Lioness Falling
by Kalicat
Summary: Defeating Voldemort was supposed to make the world a better place. But when Hermione does the unthinkable, who will save the girl who saves everyone else? Rated M for attempted suicide, adult themes, and lemons in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not earn any money from these stories, only self-satisfaction

Warnings: Attempted suicide, language

A patch of air shimmered in the moonlight, the Fat Lady's portrait swung gracefully closed. Frowning, she surveys the empty corridor.

"Students always waking me up for a joke," she finally decided, grumbling to herself, as she lay back in her chaise, already halfway asleep again.

In the glimmer of hallway, Hermione gave a soft sigh and strolled down the corridor, pausing for a last glance back at the familiar painting.

_I'll never see the Lady again._ Hermione thought gloomily. _Never have to brace myself for the awed stares of the first years, the lecherous gaze of Ron, the sight of Harry and Ginny curled up in an armchair together…_

Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, she turned and continued, heading up to the Room of Requirement. At each classroom she passed, she said a mental goodbye. Goodbye to the memories of good times long past. Goodbye to the long hours studying. Goodbye to the accomplishments. Goodbye to the 'friends' she'd made. Goodbye to the pain.

By the time she reached the blank stretch of wall, the tears were flowing freely, blurring her vision. But she was calm, calmer than she had been all year, even as memories swam in the tears in her eyes. She began to pace. _I need a place for an ending. I need a place for an ending. I need a place for an ending._

She turned to face the dark cherry wood doors that had appeared, pulling them open with a feeling of detachment. It was like an out of body experience. She wasn't here, pulling these doors open, she was fifteen, hiding in her room as Ron snogged Lavender downstairs. She was seventeen as she watched her parents eyes turn vacant as the memory charm took hold. She was kissing Ron with the sounds of battle surrounding them. She wasn't walking into the Room of Requirement, eyeing the ropes on a low lying table and ceiling support beams; she was standing frozen in the doorway to the rebuilt common room, staring at Ron with a fifth year girl sprawled in his lap. She wasn't walking over to a large medicine cabinet full of pills; she was watching Harry propose to Ginny as she thought of the unfamiliar lacy black thong she had found in Ron's bed. She wasn't counting out pills; she was hearing Malfoy hiss 'Mudblood' under his breath as he shoved past her. She wasn't pushing open a door to a balcony toe Room had created; she was walking through the busy halls alone and realizing she had no one to go see and feeling so damn lonely. She wasn't picking up a gleaming razor from beside the ropes; she was laying beneath Ron, hearing him grunt and pant into her ear, the bedsprings singing, staring up at the canopy and feeling… empty.

_I need a chair._ Hermione thought, pulling back from the memories, deciding on the knife. Blood seemed preferable to puking or suffocating. And after Dumbledore's death, a short flight off of the balcony held no appeal for her either.

A white beanbag appeared and she settled in. As she raised her left arm, she gazed at the word 'Mudblood' carved into it by Bellatrix. Now it was framed by the small parallel cuts she'd done herself. Carefully hidden, her silent release from this hell. Once the War was over, wasn't life supposed to become better? It had made hers unbearable. Ron had turned into a narcissistic, attention loving, cheating ass. Her friends had scattered; only Harry, Ginny, Ron, Neville, and herself had returned to school. With Harry and Ginny reveling in their new engaged status, Neville studying hard to pass his Herbology N.E.W.T. to become a professor, her own studies, and Ron's womanizing, the end of the war essentially ended her social life with it.

The worst part of it was knowing that she'd faded out of her friends' lives without them noticing. She never received any owls or invitations to Hogsmeade. She felt like a ghost at meals, they had stopped talking to her as well.

Hermione ran the edge of the blade along the pad of her thumb softly, curiously watching as the blood beaded along the small incision. Steadying herself, she whispered "Goodbye" and yanked the razor from her wrist to her elbow. Gasping and whimpering at the pain, she sobbed as she drew another line into her flesh. She cut deep and blood began to pool in her lap, running in crimson rivulets over the slick white material. Drawing her want as her hand began to shake, she lowered the tip to the inside of her right wrist and whispered "Slistera." New lines on her arms burst open and wept blood, and she felt a confused sense of relief. It would be all over soon.

"Slist-"

"Expelliarmus!"

Hermione tried to jump to her feet and face her attacker, he wand clattering against the stone wall. She managed to rise a few inches before becoming light headed and falling back into the softness, blood starting to stain the white fabric. Footsteps ran to her from being, someone must have come in (why didn't she ask for a room without doors?) and she rolled her head around (where was her neck? Her head couldn't stay up) to catch a glimpse of pale blonde hair and paler skin surrounding wide silver eyes. Her eyes fluttered shut, they were so heavy (she just needed a little sleep) and from somewhere she heard faintly "Granger! Fuck, Hermione! Stay with me…!"

Thank you guys for reading, I had a blast writing this! I will try to update regularly, and with summer coming on, I will have lots of time to write! Please review, they inspire me and let me know the finger cramps are worth it!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who followed and favorited this story! Special thanks to allisath, for my very first review, I hope I updated quickly enough! This chapter was interesting to write, I planned it to go in a completely different direction, but found that it went another way when I actually wrote it, so… enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, only a set of the books, a fanfiction account, and an overactive imagination.

Hermione dragged her eyelids open, blinking slowly up at a low ceiling.

_My head hurts_ she thought idly _Why the hell…?_ Then she realized.

She'd opened her eyes.

_Goddamn it! I can't even manage to kill myself properly!_ She fumed, trying to remember what had gone wrong. She'd certainly cut herself deep enough, and there'd been so much blood… Lifting her left arm, she inspected her work. Several of the cuts ran through 'mudblood', crossing it out with dried blood encrusted strokes. The cuts themselves were already just half healed pink lines. Someone must have found and healed her, and wasn't there someone who had disarmed her near the end?

Hermione raised her head, trying to see what the hell had happened while she'd been unconscious. There was no sign of the white beanbag chair; the Room had conjured up a large bed for her, with emerald covers. The table, ropes, medicine cabinet and door to the balcony had all vanished, but the same cold stone walls remained. Swinging her feet over the side of the bed, she groaned as lightheadedness overcame her. Trying to hold perfectly still, she risked a glance down, surprised at the silken feel of plush carpet beneath her feet, only to jump back onto the bed with a window-shattering shriek of surprise. Malfoy was laid out on the floor next to the bed.

He groaned and opened his eyes at her outburst. She stared; he obviously hadn't slept well. His eyes were bloodshot with black circles under them; blonde hair disheveled, looking like he'd been running his hands through it; and he had an imprint of the carpet etched onto his cheek. He gazed around confusedly for a moment before whipping around abruptly to face her.

"Granger. Are you all right? Is something wrong?" Malfoy asked, pushing himself to his knees and snatching his wand off of the floor.

Hermione gaped at him. Malfoy had…_ saved_ her?! That explained the Slytherin green sheets. After the war, he'd been civil to her and everyone else; indeed, the arrogant little ferret she'd know before seemed to have been replaced. He kept mostly to himself, as the friends he'd had had all been killed in the War. Slytherin House was running very low on students, and the new first years seemed as intimidated by him as everyone else. But to save her? He was the last person on Earth who would have done so. Even the new and reformed Malfoy would have found her and stood over her, cackling with perverse glee as he watched her die. He still hated her, she was sure of that.

"What the bloody fucking hell, Malfoy?" she asked, a hint of an edge creeping into her voice. He may have thought he was saving her, if indeed it turned out that he had, but he'd only condemned her. Condemned her to, at the least, one more day in this hellhole of her life before she could try again. And succeed this time. No doubt he would try to add to her misery. Perhaps he had only saved her in order to torment her some more?

He frowned at her slightly, as if she'd done something wrong, "I found you last night and saved your life," he said simply, rising to sit down carefully on the edge of the bed.

Hermione lost it.

"What, so you were stalking me, is that it? Hoping to catch me alone so you could finally get rid of the 'buck toothed mudblood eyesore'? But oh wait; I ruined your little plan by trying to do it myself! What was so wrong with leaving me to die? Couldn't brag to your dear old dad that you were the one that succeeded in killing me? Or are you so sadistic that you decided to keep me alive to play some sort of weird, twisted trick on me?" she shouted, furious.

Malfoy's mouth hit the ground. Eyes bugging out, he seemed to study her carefully, assessing her before collecting himself by taking a deep breath and visibly swallowing.

"I deserve that," he admitted evenly, "But if I'd wanted to kill you, I had all night to do so. I wasn't stalking you; I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk and saw the doors. I was curious, so I came in and found you…" he trailed off and looked uncomfortably down at his lap, studying his jeans as if searching for the right words.

"Dying? Lying in a pool of blood? A minute away from getting out of this gigantic fuck up that is my life?" Hermione spat, clenching fistfuls of the comforter in an effort to keep herself from leaping at him.

"You're wrong about the last one," Malfoy said quietly, "But yes."

Hermione lowered her voice dangerously, "I am not wrong."

He looked at her then, a trace of his signature smirk pulling at his mouth, "Yes, the great Hermione Granger, wrong? Astonishing idea, but you are. You have your parents, your teachers all adore you, and you have your friends and Ron- "he choked slightly on Ron's name, then rushed on, "You're the brightest witch of our age, the princess of Gryffindor, and a war hero to boot. If your life is hell, the rest of us should jump off the Astronomy tower and be done with it."

Hermione paused; there had been a look in his eye when he'd spoke of the tower that spoke volumes. "I don't," she replied, sadness softening her voice as she deflated, twisting the diaphanous material between her fingers, "That's just it. Your words are correct, but in practice they twist and become horrible. My parents are safe, but I can't reverse the memory charm. I will never have my family back. My 'friends'" Draco could hear the air quotes, "could care less about me. Scratch that, no they couldn't. Neville is busy at all hours, Ginny has no time for anything but Harry and wedding planning, and Ron…" Hermione stopped herself abruptly, squeezing her eyes shut desperately to suppress the memory of the night that caused her to wish herself dead.

Draco watched her with growing concern. He knew she'd been busy and lonely this year, much as he'd been, but her face and the tears she didn't seem to be aware of told him better than any words could, just how much pain she was in. Just what had that Weasel done to her to reduce his proud, headstrong Hermione to… this?

Carefully, so as to not alarm her, he reached a hand out to hesitantly touch hers, cautiously delighted when she let go of the comforter to hold it so tightly that, if he hadn't been so completely focused on her, he would have worried she'd break his hand.

"Your boyfriend being a man-whore is no reason to off yourself," Draco murmured softly, sensing that whatever that bastard had done was at the heart of her desire to die, "They invented Howlers and curses for just that sort of sub-human."

Hermione choked out a shaky little laugh, and then sighed, seeming to curl in on herself more. He had never seen her so… defeated. Normally, she was the one who didn't hesitate to stand up for herself and others. The time when she'd broken his nose in third year sprang immediately to mind. It was the first thing he'd noticed about her, the real her, and found himself admiring. Since then, it had snowballed, his hidden affection for her growing even as his hatred of her two idiots increased. He'd always known that, whatever trouble they managed to drag her into, she would never give up. Seeing her like this now was unsettling and more than a bit alarming.

She looked up at him with those beautiful honey eyes, tears glistening on her eyelashes, and despite the heartbreakingly gorgeous image she created, the only word he could think of was 'shattered'.

"Granger," he began carefully, "I don't know what you've been through, or what may have happened," here, he suppressed his urge to go and choke it out of the Weasel, "but I can listen. You say you have no friends, but I hope that you could count me as one. In the past, I know I've been… well…"

"An arrogant, self righteous prick?" Hermione suggested, the edge beginning to creep back into her voice. Draco chose to take her vehemence and her annoyance at him, as signs that she wasn't completely gone. She could recover.

"I favor 'pompous son of a bitch' myself, but you're right," Draco replied, regarding her seriously, looking directly into her eyes, squeezing her hand firmly, "However, if you'll allow it, I'd ask that you give me a second chance."

Glancing down at their entwined hands, Hermione scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Malfoy was offering to be her friend? Asking for a second chance? After all he'd put her through, his somber, intense demeanor was throwing her for a loop.

"What's the catch?" she asked finally, it didn't really matter if they were 'friends'. It would only last as long as it took her to find her wand and return to her room. _Slistera_ worked just as well in her room as it did here. "Do you want me to do your homework? Or listen to you brag about how many women you've bedded?"

Unruffled, he answered, "My only condition is that you give yourself a second chance as well. You don't have to tell me anything unless you want to, or help me with classes. However, I do ask that you not kill or further harm yourself." Draco smiled gently at Hermione's look of surprise, "After all, if a bastard like me gets a second chance, you defiantly deserve one too."

She considered briefly, pursing her lips. Words were cheap. Tomorrow she could find that he'd returned to the snarky asshat she was used to instead of… whatever he'd turned into. Besides, that particular choice was one only she could make. He couldn't hide all the weapons in the world from her if she was really determined to die.

"Okay," Hermione said, voice a little stronger, "I promise not to off myself."

Malfoy smiled and took out his wand with his free hand. Tapping her wrist, he murmured "Protegra Mourena." Catching Hermione's curious look, he explained, "To protect your arms while you heal. I'm pretty good at healing spells, but I didn't want to go into spells I wasn't sure about and mess up your arms… I figured you wouldn't want me taking you to Madam Pomfrey either."

"Correct," she replied, grimacing. It would have meant counseling, concern, fussing… more miserable things. Was it really too much to ask for a peaceful death?

They sat for a few moments in the cold room, hands entangled, both contemplating all that had happened. Both of their worlds had been thrown upside down and inside out. What to do now? Was any of it real? Would it last past this hour?

Malfoy cleared his throat awkwardly, breaking the silence.

"We should go to breakfast."

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "I'll go change and… see you later, I guess."

"Of course," Malfoy stood, handing Hermione her wand from his pocket and walking to the door. There he paused, turning to address her over his shoulder.

"And Granger? If you wanted to hear all my dirty stories, all you had to do was ask."

He ducked outside, grinning to himself at the look of outraged embarrassment on her face, narrowly missing her genitals-shrinking hex.

All right, chapter two is done! What do you guys think? I'm going to try and have chapter three up by Friday, depending on how long my teachers buy my 'book report' excuse. Anyways, please review, they make my day and encourage me to write faster!


	3. Chapter 3

New chapter a few days early thanks to a test in government, and two free periods! Thanks for all the favorites and follows! A great big thank you goes out to allisath, LadyAirie5, and StarrPrincessCupcake21 who reviewed! Rest assured, I only use extra class time that we already have free, but it's a good way to keep people from reading over my shoulder! I actually don't have much time to write on the weekends because I work part time, but don't worry, I will enjoy the last little bit of my senior year!

This chapter is a bit longer, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own seven well-worn books with his name on them!

Left alone in the Room, Hermione glared at the smoking scorch mark her misaimed hex had left on the wooden doors. If she'd just been a few seconds faster with her wand…!

Pulling herself out of bed, she sighed wearily. She was so goddamned tired. Too much had happened over the course of the last few days, and even more so the last hour. How was she supposed to handle it all? It was too much to deal with. Deciding to put it all out of her mind for the moment, she glanced down at her wand speculatively. She was alone now; she could ask the doors not to let anyone else in and slip quietly, unimpeded into death. For a moment, she considered it. Malfoy couldn't interrupt this time. She would be free. No more agonizing over her parents, no more faking that she wasn't jealous of Harry and Ginny's obviously loving relationship, no more crying herself to sleep, no more avoiding Ron's lustful gaze. No more living a ghost life. She opened her mouth to utter the spell, but heard Malfoy say, "If a bastard like me gets a second chance, you defiantly deserve one too". She closed her eyes and saw again his open, earnest expression, his white blonde hair spilling over his bright silver eyes. And she couldn't.

_One day _she thought, _I'll give it one more day. There's obviously a good chance that Malfoy is tricking me and dammit if I'll stay alive just for his self-satisfaction, but I'll wait one more day. Maybe it won't be as horrible as I fear. _

Hermione smiled weakly to herself. Today was her second chance at life. She cast a quick scourify on her robes and hurried out of the Room, feeling a bit lightheaded. By the time she'd reached the Fat Lady's portrait, she was feeling the strain of her recent blood loss. It would be a long day, regardless of what happened otherwise. Hurriedly muttering the password (buttercup rainbows, the Lady must have drunk far too much before she set _that_ password) she crossed the blessedly empty common room. Her room was empty Ginny must already be at breakfast, or she might have stayed in Harry's bed again last night. Normally, Hermione didn't mind, but since losing her virginity, sex had become something she had come to dread, not look forward to. She'd only ever slept with Ron, who was not the most attentive of bedmates even before-

She cut off that train of thought quickly. She was putting it all out of her mind. Had to, if she was to go one more day. _Just one more day, _she reassured herself as she gathered up her books and school bag and walked down to breakfast.

The Great Hall was bustling; between Malfoy and retrieving her things, she was running later than usual. Harry and Ginny were looking very cozy, huddled together poring over an article of _Witch Wedding?_, Neville was frantically scribbling on a very grubby piece of parchment as he scarfed down some bacon, Ron was playing footsie under the table with a blonde sixth year, and Luna was… Wait, Luna? Hermione blinked in surprise. Luna had been working in an oddities shop in Diagon Alley the last she'd heard. Why on earth was she here?

"Hermione!" Luna exclaimed happily, spotting Hermione as she'd turned to reach for strawberry jam and standing up to hug a shocked Hermione, "I was worried you'd gotten caught up in that awful nargle's nest on the seventh floor last night, Ginny said she hadn't seen you and I was hoping we'd get a chance to catch up!"

Thoroughly bewildered at being addressed, Hermione could only stare agape at Luna. Positively bubbling over with a fierce joyfulness, she was far from the vague, dreamy Luna Hermione remembered. But underneath her new forthright manner, she was pleased to spy her old butterbeer cap necklace. Working seemed to suit her, she was far livelier and her aquamarine eyes held a sparkle she'd never seen before.

"It- it's nice to see you again, Luna!" Hermione stammered, struggling to get over her shock, "How have you been?"

Luna grabbed her hand and sat again, pulling Hermione down next to her at the table. Harry, Hermione noticed, had looked up at Luna's exclamation and was watching them curiously now, only half listening to Ginny prattle on. Even Neville looked up and gave her a swift but genuine smile. Stunned at the outpouring of conversation and acknowledgement of her existence, Hermione could only sit, wondering if the world had gone topsy-turvy in the night. Perhaps she had stumbled into a parallel universe? Then Ron looked up and gave her a grin that froze the blood in her veins. No, it was the same world. Luna's tales of the shop must've alerted them to her presence. It wouldn't last past her visit.

"Hermione?" Luna asked, worriedly, snapping her out of her frozen state, "Are you alright? You didn't really run into nargles, did you? They affect how fast you can think, you know."

"Huh? Yes, Luna, sorry. I just got up, and I'm not used to so much conversation in the mornings." _Or ever, really. I've talked more this morning than I have all year. I wonder when my voice will give out._

"Are you sure? You're awfully pale, and you're holding your arm oddly." Luna observed, tilting her head, forkful of eggs suspended halfway to her mouth, "Are you sure you're okay?"

_If things had gone right last night, I wouldn't even be here today_ Hermione thought even as she answered in what she hoped was a cheerful tone, "Of course! I've just been really busy this year with homework and all. And if I have to write another essay I swear my hand will fall off!"

Laughing, Luna replied, "Goodness, this place never changes!" then suddenly going quiet, she said seriously, "But don't be afraid to ask for help. We're here for you."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears at this and she ducked her head and murmured, "Thanks Luna, I'll remember that."

Glancing at a peculiar device strapped to her wrist, Luna exclaimed, "Harry said you have Slughorn for your first class, right? If you don't hurry, you all will be late!" addressing this last part at the whole group, she sent them hurrying off, promising to meet them for dinner.

On the way to the dungeons, shed remembered that Malfoy hadn't been at the Slytherin table. _I wonder what he's up to now,_ she worried, _Telling Madam Pomfrey or Headmistress McGonagall most likely_. She shuddered, wondering what would happen to her if that actually were the case. Entering the small classroom, her fears were laid to rest. Sitting at one of the cauldrons in the back of the room, Malfoy quirked his lips up into a (_friendly? Really?) _grin at her.

She managed a small smile and nod in return, choosing a cauldron a few over from his. Pulling out her book as she watched everyone else file in and choose partners, Hermione was surprised when a small square of parchment landed in her lap. Unfolding it carefully under the table, she marveled at the perfect, elegant script.

_Doing okay?_

He wanted to know if she was okay? Glancing curiously over at Malfoy, she saw that he appeared to be setting up for the class. But when she turned back to the paper, she saw him glance over several times as she wrote back.

_Yes. A little lightheaded, but not bad._

She flicked it over with a quick covert motion and watched out of the corner of her eye as he opened the note up and read quickly, then frowned.

As he started to scribble an answer, Professor Slughorn bustled into the classroom, exclaiming, "So sorry for my lateness, the delicious French toast delayed me. Can't let good toast go to waste, you know." With a jolly wink at Harry, who remained his class favorite even without Snape's book, Slughorn tapped the board smartly with his wand and turned to face the class as instructions began to appear. "Today we are going to make a blood replenishing potion. This is commonly used on vampire victims, trauma victims, and the like. Because the potion causes the recipients own blood platelets and plasma to replicate themselves at a faster rate, there is no need to worry about diseases or blood type compatibility of donors. Madam Pomfrey tells me that she is running a bit low after that last Quidditch match, so I thought it would be an easy assignment for you! Small flasks on my desks at the end of the hour for testing, and please BEGIN!"

Hermione already knew that this was an easy potion, and immediately began gathering ingredients.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, why don't you two work together, since neither of you have partners?" Slughorn suggested, pausing with a jerk as he walked past, frowning slightly.

Hermione looked up, unsure whether to protest or not, to find Malfoy already sliding his stuff over, plopping into the empty seat next to her. He grinned at her, holding the note between two fingers and raising an eyebrow.

"Perfect day to rectify your problem," he commented, "Not often the fates, or gods, or whatever lower person you prefer graces us with such luck."

She blinked at him. "You're saying I should keep some of the potion and drink it?" Hermione asked incredulous, her voice raising an octave.

"Why not?" Malfoy asked, gesturing between them, "We're both excellent at Potions, and Slughorn said he'd be testing them, on the off chance we screw something up." He shrugged nonchalantly, "I just thought it would be a good idea."

Hermione just stared at him. Sure, she'd agreed to give him a second chance, but if he wanted to physically hurt her, this was the perfect chance. Glancing at Harry and Ron's table, she caught Harry's look of concern that he cast in her direction. As he was away from Ginny, she supposed this wasn't unusual. He was seated too far away to hear Malfoy's suggestion, he was distracted by Ron's blathering anyway, but it wasn't hard to guess how he would react. And yet… he had saved her. _Besides,_ she reminded herself, _it doesn't matter if he poisons you. It'd save me the job._

She let out a sigh, "Okay Malfoy, but I swear to Merlin I will hex you into oblivion if you poison me."

He placed a hand dramatically over his heart and threw back his head, "Granger! You wound me! Dost thou thinketh me a villain?" then dropping his hand with a small smile and a covert wink, he continued, "Besides, I'm not going to waste my second chance."

Hermione found herself blushing uncontrollably. _What the hell is wrong with me_ she thought angrily, _He's probably just screwing with me_.

"Alright then," she replied brusquely, opening her book and beginning to cut up moon beans.

Draco smiled in triumph. He'd skipped breakfast to send an owl to Slughorn, asking for blood replenishing potion and signing it with Pomfrey's well-known scrawl. After vanishing the scarlet stained beanbag and scourifying the floor, he'd worried that the small flask he'd given her last night, hurriedly stolen from Madam Pomfrey's stores with the aid of a Disillionment charm, hadn't been enough. He'd been right. Luckily, Slughorn seemed to be especially susceptible to suggestion spells; it had been the only way he could think of to work with her. Studying her, pointedly ignoring the glares Potter was sending his way, he noted that she was indeed very pale. Her hands shook slightly, and her eyes were glassy.

Lowering his voice, he asked, "Did you eat breakfast?" as he grabbed a silver knife to help her start chopping up ingredients to add to her gently bubbling potion.

She turned to him and raised her eyebrows in question, asking "Why do you care?" even as she realized that she'd ben so busy talking to Luna that she'd forgotten to eat.

"Did you?" Draco persisted, catching her slight blush and flash of something in her eyes

Hermione bent over the ginger roots she was chopping, concentrating. Draco waited patiently, slowly pressing the juice from burbleberries. Finally looking up and seeing he wasn't about to leave this alone, she muttered, "No. I got distracted by Luna."

Draco frowned and slipped a hand into the pocket of his robes. Retrieving something and slipping them into her pocket, he said, "Take one after class, they're sort of like muggle energy drinks, but in candy form. Quidditch players usually use them for long games, so I figured…" he shrugged, embarrassed. _She needs support right now_ he reminded himself_ this is what a friend would do! Of course it is!_

Hermione took one out, looking at the small purple ball, so similar to muggle gumballs. She glanced and Malfoy, bewildered. _He's being considerate and thoughtful… Certainly acts like he wants to be friends… Maybe he really does mean it. Nope _her sensible side said, _he's Malfoy. Keep your guard up. _

"Thanks," she said carefully, placing the candy in her pocket. She could get rid of them after class. Turning back to the potion, they brewed in silence for nearly the rest of the hour, until Hermione said, "You need to stir a bit faster," and reached over to grasp the spoon handle above his hand, correcting him.

Draco looked at her out of the corner of his eye, smirking, "So you changed your mind about hearing my conquest stories then?"

Gasping, Hermione pulled back with a jerk, not letting go of the spoon, "No! What the hell made you think that?"

"Well, Granger, the way you're holding that spoon can be considered very… phallic." Malfoy said with a wide grin, enjoying the look of horror that came across her. She'd seemed so sad, perhaps she just needed a little friendly banter. Hermione dropped the stirring spoon so fast that Draco had to laugh.

"Is that a no? Because I've got a really good one about this time up in the Astronomy tower-" Caught up in his teasing, Draco didn't notice Hermione go white as a sheet and her eyes widen.

Grabbing the spoon from Malfoy, Hermione snapped, "Shut up Malfoy! I don't want to hear about you fucking a whore in the freaking tower!"

The normal classroom chatter ceased abruptly as everyone turned to look at the odd pair in the back. Draco was stunned at her reaction, fumbling desperately for the right words to apologize, Hermione furious and struggling not to cry. Draco tried to figure out what he'd said wrong. He'd been trying to cheer her up, not upset her. He watched wide-eyed as she glanced around at their classmates gaping at her, tossed the spoon on the table, and fled the classroom.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Slughorn asked sternly, "What was that about?"

"I don't know sir. I really don't know." Draco answered absently, turning to look at the door.

No one noticed Ronald Weasley's sadistic smug smirk at the front of the room, smiling after the terrified girl. _His_ girl.

A/N: Voila! Il est fini! Hope you all enjoyed it, as always, please review with thoughts, questions, ideas, criticism, or encouragement; I truly enjoy and cherish them! I shall give chocolate chip cookies to every reviewer!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the wait, my teachers have decided to pile on the homework in order to make us truly appreciate summer. Or at least that's the nicest theory I've come up with. Anyways, I may be a little bit slower than normal updating the chapters until I get a few essays and a book report done. Thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed this story! Big thanks go out to allisath and anthraquinblue for the reviews!

anthraquinblue: I agree with you about Hermione; her vengeful temper is one of the many reasons she is an awesome character, both to write and read. Rest assured, she is not suicidal because Ron cheated on her. I'm pretty sure hell would have to freeze over for that. This chapter should explain a lot. And Ron is a really lame character, but I gave him one of the balls he's missing, because otherwise none of this would have happened and I wouldn't have a story. But don't worry; normal Hermione will be back soon, just with a few more scars.

Warnings: Mentions of rape.

As soon as she was out of the classroom, Hermione ran. Avoiding the main corridors, she ran and ran, but never fast enough to escape the memory of that night. She was never fast enough for that.

Images, snapshots ran through her mind; the beauty of the stars on that clear night, her bag carelessly tossed on the flagstones, looking down as she swung her legs over and sat on the edge, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the breeze, then a pair of arms wrapping around her and pulling her back.

Stopping and bracing her hands against her knees to catch her breath, Hermione remembered how she'd considered jumping that night. Not seriously, but she'd wondered what it would feel like, to slide off the edge and let herself fall. It would be like flying, she'd thought, with the ultimate freedom at the end. Then Ron had grabbed her.

The worst part, Hermione reflected, had been that moment, that single instant when she'd wished it were someone who wanted to save her, someone who cared for her. When she'd turned around and found Ron, her disappointment cut deeply. They'd already gone through the horrible breakup phase when she had found out he was cheating on her, which had led to his monopolization of Harry. They hadn't spoken in weeks, so naturally she was surprised to see him. But she'd barely opened her mouth to as him why he was there before he'd pinned her to the wall and silencio'd her.

After he finished, Hermione's throat was raw from unheard screams. He'd shoved her away roughly and dressed, keeping his wand trained on her.

"Tell anyone," he warned her, "and you're dead."

He didn't know how much she regretted not jumping off the tower when she'd had the chance.

He'd ended the silencing spell the next morning at breakfast, sending her a warning smile. Not that it made much difference; it had been awhile since anyone had spoken to her. Her body had mostly healed since then, though she'd found several scars she'd bear for life. But mentally, she was broken. She had to ward her bed with spells of protection and concealment every night. Her wand was never farther than a few inches away at all times; her biggest regret was leaving it in her school bag that night, out of reach. Her appetite vanished and she stopped caring about schoolwork or anything else. What good was life if you were alone and abused?

After a few days, she knew she couldn't take it anymore. She'd crept up to the Room of Requirement, and had gotten into this mess with Malfoy. She knew he'd probably been trying to tease her in his odd, arrogant little way, but just the mention of screwing in the Astronomy tower sent her back to that night. She'd been pinned against the wall with her skirt ripped, trying desperately to claw at his eyes even as he laughed. Back feeling his heavy weight holding her down. Back sobbing as he shoved himself mercilessly into her.

Hermione choked on a sob, squeezing her eyes shut, shuddering. No, she mustn't let herself think on it. Not before she was alone. Not until…

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, and she shrieked. He'd come for her again! She snapped her elbow back into his stomach and stomped on his foot, whirling around to face him as she drew her wand, furious and terrified. Only to find Malfoy bent double as he gasped for air, one hand up in a 'stop' gesture.

"Sorry…." He gasped, "You were… crying… wanted to… help… didn't mean…"

Holding up a finger, he wheezed for a minute. Hermione watched him, lowering her wand as the adrenaline rush faded. She didn't regret hitting him; he hadn't announced himself and she didn't know who'd grabbed her. But… he'd been gentle. Not grabbing, more like… hugging. Looking down at the blonde boy, she was both confused and strangely grateful. He'd followed her out of class and found her. He'd even tried to hug her to comfort her. Malfoy finally straightened up, his face red.

"Sorry, " he said again, "I should've said something, I just couldn't find you and I was worried and I finally saw you and you were crying…" Malfoy broke off, reaching up to run a hand through his hair, agitated, looking down at his shoes. Suddenly, Hermione could see the little boy he could have been, worried and a little bit lost. The obvious contriteness and his wide-eyed gaze told her just how frightened and unsure he'd been. She realized he was just as insecure in this friendship as she was, despite the overconfident airs he put on.

"It's fine, I'm sorry. I was just upset and thinking about something and freaked out," she replied softly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Malfoy hesitated, unsure of how to ask what he needed to, "Did… did I say something wrong?"

Hermione winced and closed her eyes against the tears that had started to flow again, "It's not your fault, I know you were just messing around, I just… he… god, I'm so sorry, I don't even know how to explain."

Praying that he wasn't seriously misreading her, Draco moved forward and gently wrapped her in his arms; she hugged him back and leaned into his shoulder, sobbing. He held her, completely confused as to why she was crying, but she'd said 'he'. The Weasel was going to have more than just a little black eye when Draco figured out what the hell he'd done. Then again, she was crying. That was a good enough reason. He tightened his hold to pull her closer and lowered his head to rest on hers.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair, "I'm so sorry."

Hermione tried to speak, to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but nothing came out. She couldn't believe Malfoy was hugging her, apologizing, holding her. She knew she should be horrified, repulsed even, but he was so warm and it was comfortable being in his arms. He smelled like cinnamon and warmth, she realized, trying to figure out how warmth could be a scent, pressing herself closer. He murmured into her hair, and she let herself fall then; let her guard down and accepted his friendship, the comfort and support he was offering. For some reason, she believed he was sincere. Snuggling into his warmth, trying to stop crying, she decided to trust him.

They stayed like that for an endless moment; Hermione broken but decided, Draco unsure and angry but determined. Then Hermione took a breath and stepped back, leaving her hands on his shoulders. Draco loosened his grip hurriedly, but followed her example by gingerly letting his hands rest on her waist.

"Thank you," she said, looking up at him with those molten amber eyes, a small but serene smile gracing her lips.

"No problem, Granger," he replied, relieved to see her smile, "Anytime. Should we hide out for the day? I'm sure that the Room of Requirement can conjure up a library and snacks. Besides, we both know you're ahead in all your classes."

Tilting her head as she considered, she said slowly, "The Room can't conjure up food, but Dobby wouldn't mind if we asked, I haven't seen him in ages. It's probably best anyway; I don't think I can…" she looked back at her book bag, contents strewn about as she'd tossed it down.

"No, of course," Draco said hurriedly, "I'll explain to your teachers and the Headmistress tomorrow, although with that scene, McGonagall might call you to her-" He shut his mouth quickly as he saw Hermione's smile fade instantly, cursing himself for making her sad again, "Let's not worry about it now though," he said hurriedly, "We can stay up in the Room for today; I should have thought to suggest it anyway, you need to rest. Things have been tough on you lately."

Hermione shook her head sadly and let out a watery chuckle, "You don't know the half of it."

"You're right," he said, picking up her bag from the floor, "I don't. But I think it's a pretty easy guess."

She considered, then said, "I'll tell you sometime. I… I just don't think I can, yet."

Draco nodded and started down the hallway. They skipped over the vanishing stairs, down a few hallways, and hid from Mrs. Norris once before finally coming to a halt in front of the blank stretch of wall. Draco motioned for Hermione to proceed, trusting her judgment. Besides, their day off was primarily for her. Hermione paced forward and back three times thinking _we need a place to relax. We need a place to relax. We need a place to relax… with no door! _She tacked on this last part hastily.

A small door greeted them when she turned, and she pulled it open to see a large gold bed dominating the space. A canopy bed, the curtains and plush down comforter were a soft lilac, her favorite color. A giggle burst from her lips and she sprang onto the bed, laughing as she fond it to be much bouncier than normal. Pushing herself to her knees, she bounced gently, testing, and then flopped back, laughing as she was catapulted a foot into the air. Landing on her back, she looked over at Malfoy to find him hesitating in the doorway, watching her with a wide-eyed gaze she didn't understand.

Draco was frozen, one hand on the half closed door, staring at her. She looked delighted at the bouncy bed, but he wondered why she'd asked for it. Shoving down the memories of countless dreams he'd had with her in the same position, he closed the door and walked to the bed, not bothering to look back and check that the door disappeared.

"Reverting back to childhood for the day, are we?" he asked, forcing his mind to childhood innocence. He'd bet she'd been adorable as a child; now she was simply stunning.

Her chocolate brown hair fanned out around her, she laughed again, and Draco smiled, enjoying the sound, even as he worried. Her moods seemed to change too quickly; he could barely keep up.

"A bit," she admitted ruefully, "I loved trampolines, so I thought we might enjoy this!"

Draco grinned at the double meaning to her words, but decided not to mention it, "You must have been some rebel, bouncing on beds. Did you peek at your Christmas presents too?"

"No, but I did steal the last cookie on occasion. I was badass like that," she smirked.

Draco widened his eyes in mock horror, "No! The cruelty!"

Hermione rolled over onto her stomach, attempting to pull a serious face as she said somberly, "Yes, and I even…" glancing comically to both sides, she lowered her voice and beckoned Draco closer. He sat in front of her, inclining his head, "I even stole the purple crayons in kindergarten."

Malfoy laughed outright, "Granger, if those are the worst things you've ever done, you are truly a saint."

Hermione looked at him oddly for a moment. _Trust him_ she thought. "Call me Hermione. We aren't exactly enemies anymore, right?"

Thrown off guard by her request as he was, Draco managed, "Call me Draco then. And no, I suppose we're more of frenemies."

"Frenemies?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"You know, enemies turned friends," he explained, proud of his invented term.

Hermione just looked at him, "Muggle girls use that term for people who are outwardly their friends, when they're actually enemies."

Draco blanched. Stupid muggle girls. "I'll think of a different phrase."

"After what I'm about to put you through, you might change your mind about the friend thing." She said with a wicked grin, jumping off of the bed and going over to a strange shiny black box that appeared on the wall over a cabinet. As she opened the cabinet, he caught a glimpse of cases before she grabbed one and shut the door, popping a round flat object out of the case and inserting it into a slot in the black box. The front of the box lit up with the words blue-ray in a vibrant blue color.

He stared, finally asking, "What the hell is that?"

"A television." She answered, looking around at the floor before spotting a slim plastic rectangle with buttons and picked it up, flopping back onto the bed.

Draco just looked at her.

Hermione sighed and explained, "It's a muggle device for watching movies. The movies are saved onto the disks and called DVD's."

"I see," he said hesitantly, slightly irked that he hadn't known what the objects were, "And what exactly are movies?"

"They're kind of like books. They make up a story and have people act out the story. Movie makers record the people acting and print out the disks so that you can watch the movie," Hermione explained, grabbing a pillow then laid on her stomach facing the screen, propping up her head and arms.

Draco looked at the screen curiously. The things muggles did for entertainment was astounding. They'd even tried to improve upon books.

"Okay then," he said, somewhat warily, "Then what story are we watching?"

"Just a story called Twilight," she answered nonchalantly as she pressed buttons, keeping her eyes glued to the screen, "A few vampires, a couple werewolves, some magic… you should like it. There's actually five DVDs, but we can start with this one."

Internally, she was cackling. She didn't mind Twilight, it was fine for a lazy afternoon and Taylor Lautner was hot. However, she was pretty sure Draco wasn't going to be too crazy about it. As far as muggle fantasy movies went, this one was by far the most ridiculous compared to the real magical world. As she asked the Room to dim the lights and settled down, she was far more interested in watching Draco's reactions than the movie itself.

Halfway through the movie, Malfoy was incensed.

"Really? Vampires that sparkle in the sun? And pretend to be muggles?!" he whispered furiously to her, ignoring her half giggle, half shushing noises, "And the muggle girl knows and still hangs out with them? Good thing she's going to be removed from the gene pool in a few minutes."

Much to his dismay, she didn't die in the next few minutes. Or the next ten. Or twenty. Not that she hadn't given the vampires ample opportunity. He was beginning to think that her stupidity honestly knew no bounds.

"She's really going to go into the vampires' lair? Are you _sure_ this is a popular movie? Because brutal slaughter of a young girl doesn't sound very appealing."

"Actually, horror movies are very popular. But this is a romance, so they don't kill her. Now shhh!"

"If it's a romance, there really should be some ripping of clothes. Is there any of that coming up?"

"No! Watch the movie!"

She hadn't been kidding. No steamy shower scene, and only a brief kiss on the bed. And this girl seemed to have a combination of invincibleness with an innate ability to complain about everything. There had been a promising scene with some sort of enemy vampire who'd beaten her up, but the other vampire family had saved her. Right shame that was. And at the end of the movie, she _wanted_ to become a vampire! How sick was that! Hermione insisted on watching the second movie, so he sneaked down to the kitchen to grab a few snacks for lunch while she watched something called 'the previews'. She'd been right, Dobby had been delighted to help him after he'd given an abbreviated version of events. Draco was surprised that he was even able to carry the mountain of food the house elves heaped upon him.

The second movie was even more appalling than the first. Now they'd introduced werewolves, which made him laugh. Instead of the cursed humans who had no control of themselves once they'd turned, these werewolves turned mainly by choice and tried to protect humans from vampires. The girl was inconsolable because her vampire had left her after his brother tried to kill her. He'd enjoyed the part where he'd thrown her into the wall, but it had gone downhill after that. Now she was just moping around trying to get herself killed. At this point, Draco would have gladly volunteered for the job. Then, she'd flown across the world to save the vampire! He'd had to turn away when they'd reunited; it was too morbidly sweet. Then the vampire proposed, after some rivalry with one of the werewolves. At the end of the movie, he turned to ask Hermione if she wanted to watch the third one, strangely hoping she'd say yes, if only so that he could make fun of it, only to find her asleep beside him.

She looked so vulnerable in sleep, fragile somehow, even though he remembered well how strong she could be. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, smiling as she mumbled in her sleep and held her pillow closer. He wished he was that pillow, but this was good, being her friend. He had cheered her up this afternoon and she seemed like she trusted him. He only hoped that her good mood wouldn't vanish in the morning.

Slipping off of the bed, he covered her up and lay on the floor, grateful that the room could conjure up a blanket and pillow for him. As he gazed up at the ceiling and let his eyes fall closed, he realized how similar this was to the previous night and mentally thanked his lucky stars that he'd found her in time.

A/N: Okay, Chapter four is finished! I'll try to have the next chapter up by Friday, but it all depends on how much more schoolwork I'm assigned this week. In the meantime, please review! They encourage me to write faster!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello again! Finally got chapter five up, an uphill battle right now with the teachers, but I made it so I won't complain! Big thank you as always to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed! Special thank you to allisath, who has reviewed on all of the chapters so far!

Fair warning, I will change details in the story. A reviewer pointed out that Twilight came out after the war ended, and I'll admit, I did change the time frame slightly. To be honest, I'm shocked that no one has mentioned that Dobby is alive in my version. So just to be clear, I am of the opinion that this is fanfiction, so I will stay within the boundaries of the series mostly, but I like Dobby alive as well as both of the twins. :)

Hermione woke abruptly the next morning when she rolled off the bed and landed on Draco with a muffled thump.

She opened her eyes, bewildered, to find Draco beneath her, lifting his head in his own confusion. Realizing what must have happened, she rolled off of him, blushing furiously.

"I know I spent all of the afternoon making fun of that movie, but that really is no reason to attack me," he commented wryly, wincing as he sat up.

Hermione groaned and stood up, extending an arm to help him to his feet, "Sorry. I should have made the bed wider. But why the hell were you sleeping on the floor?" she asked.

Draco looked at her in disbelief. She couldn't be that naïve. She must've slept with that wanker Weasley at least once. More than that probably, if the rumors were to be believed. He'd had a hard time not punching the smug prick's face in after he'd heard about an alleged incident in their common room. So why didn't she see how improper it would be for them to sleep in the same bed? Despite how much he'd love to be that close to her, it would lead to temptation and unchivalrous thoughts. Hermione deserved to be treated better than that. She deserved better than him.

Choosing to make light of it, he replied flippantly as he took her hand and pulled himself to his feet, "I rather like my face the way it is. If you'd woken up next to me, you would've punched me on instinct."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but hesitated, looking at his lazy smile and sleep tousled hair. He looked… sexy; there was no other word for it… like that. She mentally shook herself. _Malfoy, sexy? You really are starting to lose it. He barely becomes my friend and bam! I think he's attractive? The stress is starting to get to me._

"You're probably right," she conceded, steering away from that train of thought hurriedly, "It would be yesterday in the hallway all over again."

Draco caught something in her voice. A trace of sadness? Frustration? Fear? Picking up the fallen blanket, he replaced it on the bed and asked, "Who did you think I was, that made you attack me so forcefully?" not looking at her as he spoke.

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her feet slowly. Debating how much, if anything, she should tell him.

"I thought you were Ron," she said simply, not elaborating.

Draco whipped his head around to look at her. He'd known they weren't on the best terms, but the ferocious desperation she'd fought with yesterday said something else. She was afraid of the boy. Had that asshole beat her? Should he ask? How should he handle this?

Noting her downcast eyes and slumped shoulders, he said quietly, "I won't make you tell me what he did. It's your choice whether you tell me or not and when. But if you need another day off, I'll take care of it."

She shook her head quickly, "No. I appreciate the offer, but we've already missed a day of classes and-" she broke off as she jumped to her feet, "Luna! Oh, shit! I was supposed to meet her at dinner last night!"

Hermione raced over to a door in the once empty wall and dashed inside, closing the door behind her. Draco sat, wondering why Lovegood was back. _Probably visiting_ he decided, _whatever is going on with Hermione is more important._ Hearing the rustle of clothes and a rather creative string of cuss words coming from the other room, Draco scourified his robes and considered how best to help her. She needed to be protected, in case that scumbag tried anything again, but how to do it? Obviously the best way would be to stay with her at all times and not sleep, but the school would have to talk. He didn't give a damn what those idiots said, but he couldn't ask her to subject herself to that. She had enough problems at the moment without adding that stress on top of it. Truthfully, spending all day with her was an appealing option, beyond just getting to be the one to curse whoever hurt her. He liked being around her, watching her blush when he threatened to tell a dirty story, the easy banter, and her quickness… It wouldn't be anything near a burden to stay with her.

But he couldn't do that, her reminded himself. So what was left? Keeping an eye on her seemed too little, but following her without her permission seemed too much of an imposition. He gritted his teeth in frustration, twirling his wand through his fingers. He should be able to think of something, damn it!

The door to the other room burst open and Hermione rushed out in obviously new robes, hair slightly disheveled and cheeks flushed. _Crap_, Draco thought, immediately distracted,_ why does she look so beautiful all the time? _

"Okay, I'm good to go," she said, rushing to pick up her bag by the door that had reappeared, "Are you coming?"

Draco blinked at her, not understanding.

"Coming where, exactly?"

"Breakfast, of course," Hermione answered, trying to sound casual. People would talk, but she could care less at this point. Draco was the only person to come looking for her yesterday. They could all go fuck their self-righteous selves if they had a problem with him.

Draco blushed for a moment, looking stunned and a little bit pleased before standing and gathering his own bag, following her wordlessly out the door.

Halfway to breakfast however, they were stopped by a small black haired boy with a Hufflepuff badge.

"Headmistress McGonagall wants to see you in her office right away," he told Hermione, eyes darting curiously toward Draco every few seconds, "She said something about chocolate frogs too, but I'm not sure what she meant."

She thanked the boy, dreading the conversation, wondering what sort of explanation would be best.

"I guess I'll see you later?" she asked Draco, suddenly unsure of his answer.

"Yes, I have Herbology with the Ravenclaws this morning, but we have Arithmancy this afternoon together," he answered easily, adjusting the strap of his bag, "Of course, there's lunch, but I'm sure Luna will be worried enough without a Malfoy joining you."

"You're probably right," she conceded with a sigh, "I'll see you in Arithmancy then."

She hurried away to the eagle statue that marked the head's office and said "Chocolate Frogs," amused that McGonagall had kept Dumbledore's tradition of candy passwords. Underneath her amusement laid raw panic. What should she tell McGonagall? Not the truth; that would pave a golden brick road to a new hell. Oh _God,_ why hadn't she thought about this before?!

She knocked hesitantly on the door, opening it and stepping inside as she heard, "Enter," from within. Gazing around at the familiar room, she approached the Headmistress's desk, frantically wracking her brain for an explanation.

"Miss Granger, please sit down," McGonagall said brusquely, laying down an eagle feather quill.

Hermione sat carefully, coming up with nothing and praying something smart would pop into her head. She'd never felt so unprepared in her life and cursed her own stupidity.

McGonagall surveyed Hermione, obviously choosing her words with care, "I understand from Mr. Malfoy and Professor Slughorn that you left your potions class early yesterday, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," Hermione said, dropping her gaze in shame. It'd been necessary at the time but McGonagall didn't need to know that. But Draco had told the Headmistress? When? What exactly had he told her?

Pushing aside a piece of parchment, McGonagall said to Hermione's astonishment, "Mr. Malfoy's letter says that he made an insensitive remark about memory charms. I'm given to understand that your parents' memories are unable to be restored and that his comment upset you enough that you had to leave classes for the day."

Hermione managed to nod, letting tears fill her eyes at the thought of her parents, "Yes ma'am. I apologize for causing a disturbance."

"It's quite all right, Ms. Granger. Honestly, if you did not have some sort of reaction to such a… difficult situation, it would be far more worrying. What does concern me is that Mr. Malfoy made such a cruel remark and that he was missing from all of his classes yesterday as well."

Hermione lifted her head in shock. She wasn't in trouble, but Draco was? It was almost unbelievable; if she hadn't known she was awake by a slight burning sensation from her robes brushing up against her cuts, she certainly never would have believed it.

"Actually, Headmistress, it wasn't Draco's fault. We were joking around in class and that comment just happened to strike me the wrong way. He didn't' know about my parents, you see. He spent the day with me, talking and making sure that I was alright," she said calmly, knowing how ridiculous it must sound, but maintaining steady eye contact to convey the truth of her word. Well, some of them were true anyway.

McGonagall seemed puzzled, "You were 'joking around' and spent the afternoon together, Miss Granger? I wasn't aware that you two were on such good terms."

Unblinking, Hermione replied, "Yes. Actually, we've become fairly close friends recently." It was as good of a description as any, she thought, "He has changed since the war, Headmistress. I can assure you that he did not intend to hurt me with his comment."

Flabbergasted, McGonagall replied, "Well… I am pleased to hear that. Since everything seems to have been settled, neither of you will be punished. However, if there is a next time, please report to Madam Pomfrey for a calming drought so that we can assess if further help is needed."

"Yes Headmistress, I will. Thank you," Hermione said, relieved.

"You may return to breakfast now."

As Hermione shut the door behind her, the portrait of Dumbledore behind McGonagall spoke up.

"She is not telling the whole truth, but I do not believe that discovering the actually truth would be beneficial. Perhaps there is something to be said for traumatic events changing a person after all."

"I hope for her sake you are right, Albus," McGonagall replied thoughtfully, "That girl has been through more than enough already."

A/N: Okay, Chapter five is finally up! Sorry it's a little shorter than normal! Hopefully next chapter up by Monday, cross your fingers! Reviews are always helpful too! ;)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the late update, I'm graduating the week after next, so baccalaureate is this week and the teachers are playing catch up. So longer chapter to make up for it! Thanks to all who have favorited, followed, and reviewed! I am amazed at how many people are following this story; I didn't expect to get very many!

Hurrying into the Great Hall, Hermione glanced at the Slytherin table. No Draco. She was disappointed; she'd hoped that her trip to McGonagall's had been quick enough so that she could eat with him but there was still lunch and dinner. And judging from the way Luna was impatiently waving her over, she doubted she'd have much time to eat anyway. With a resigned sigh, she walked over and sat down between Ginny and Luna. Ignoring their curious gazes, she buttered her toast. She got as far as spreading strawberry jelly on the second slice before Luna finally broke.

"Where on Earth have you been?!" She burst out, "Harry told us about Potions. Malfoy is a prat, but you can't let him get to you! You weren't on the map at all-"

"And you didn't come back to the room last night!" Ginny cut in, surprising Hermione. It had been quite awhile since Ginny had noticed things like that. Glancing over at the red haired girl, Hermione noticed that for once, Ginny wasn't draped over Harry. In fact, both Harry and Ron were conspicuously absent to Hermione's relief.

"I needed some time alone is all," Hermione said, keeping her voice low, "Besides, I don't bother you when you don't come to the room, Ginny."

"This is different," Ginny insisted, laying a supportive hand on Hermione's arm, "I don't stay away because I was bullied by a complete ass like Malfoy."

Hermione's head snapped up "He didn't bully me. We were joking around and he made a comment that inadvertently reminded me of-" she cut herself off abruptly, she couldn't tell Ginny this, she was Ron's sister, "Well, Of a very traumatic experience."

Luna tilted her head, her eyes wide and worried, "What traumatic experience? Something from the War?"

Ginny was still angry, "Inadvertently, my ass! He did it on purpose! It's Malfoy we're talking about after all!"

Hermione faced the younger girl, annoyed, "He came after me and apologized. He even spent the afternoon with me, making sure that I was okay. I honestly don't think that he meant to upset me."

The two girls gaped at her, stunned. Luna recovered first, asking "Malfoy? Draco Malfoy apologized? And made sure you were okay?"

Ginny meanwhile, was turning red with anger. But instead of being directed at Malfoy, Hermione was shocked to see that Ginny was angry with… her.

"You spent the afternoon together?" Ginny asked, sounding strangled, "After everything he's done to Harry and Ron? To you? You just… hung out? What the hell do you thing you're playing at?"

Grabbing her toast, Hermione stood up, suddenly so angry she could feel a vein pulsing in her forehead, "He's treated me a hell of a lot better since the War than any of you have. Excuse me for trying to actually be happy for a change. And just because you choose to keep your old prejudices doesn't mean I have to act like an idiot and refuse to accept his kindness just to please you. I'll see you later, Luna."

With that, Hermione strode out of the Great Hall, completely oblivious to the stir she'd caused.

Back at the Gryffindor table, Ginny turned furiously to Luna, "What the hell does she think she's doing?! Betraying Harry and Ron for that ferret! After all we've done for her!"

As Ginny continued ranting, Luna ducked her head, feigning interest in her pancakes to hide her smile. _There is hope after all, _she thought happily_ Her aura is much stronger now._

_...  
_

Hermione stayed furious all morning, concentrating on Ancient Runes. Contrary to Draco's assumption, she was slightly behind in most of her classes due to her depression. She'd have to really get to work if she wanted to do well on the Christmas exams. Channeling her fury into her work, she scribbled furiously, doting her fingers with ink.

Ginny, however, was a bigger problem. Hermione had always known that the younger girl harbored a special hatred for Draco since the War. She'd never thought that it would be easy to convince everyone to accept Draco, but Ginny's easy condemnation of her was unnerving. Prejudice was an ugly trait, and one she hadn't believed had been in her friend. But what to do now? After her outburst, she was hesitant to go to lunch. She had far too much homework to catch up on anyways. Thank goodness the weekend was the day after next. She would get a head start on the burbleberry essay Slughorn had assigned them. And the runes translations she reminded herself, Professor Babbling had assigned several passages to translate by the following Monday.

Hermione hurried to the library, greeting a somewhat startled looking Madam Prince. Setting up at a back table in a secluded area of the library, she gathered about twenty books, arranging them at her table. Settling down happily, she inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma of old books and parchment, relaxing. How easy it was to forget how much she enjoyed this' a task with concrete steps to follow. No drama, no confusion, just facts. An hour and a half later, her essay was halfway finished and Hermione found herself cheerful. This isn't so bad, she thought as she reshelved her books, reveling in the almost forgotten emotion. With a little extra work, she could catch up in her classes. Ginny would eventually come around, Hermione supposed that she hadn't been the most patient person that morning. She would just have to give Ginny time to get used to the idea. And as for Ron, she knew enough curses and hexes to take care of herself. She could avoid him and keep her wand handy.

Deciding to head to Arithmancy early to talk to Draco, Hermione turned away from the bookshelves to grab her bag and came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.

Grabbing her arms and pushing her hard against the bookshelf, Ron snarled, "Running out of classes now, 'Mione? People will start thinking you're upset about something. And we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

He leaned in close, nose inches from Hermione's. She gasped as he pressed himself flush against her, gripping her arms with bruising force. She couldn't think straight. Was he really going to rape her again, in the middle of the library? For ducking out of a class? A hot, heavy pressure against her hip panicked her more than whatever he could say to her.

"You're supposed to be behaving yourself. I can't have my property stirring up trouble, now can I? You don't want to get punished, now would you?" He hissed in her face, letting go of one of her arms and pinning it with his weight to snake his free hand into the top of her robes. Hermione shuddered in horrified disgust as she felt him slip into her bra, frantically thrashing, trying to escape him. He wouldn't this time, she wouldn't let him! Then his fingers grasped her nipple and twisted mercilessly. He watched with a sadistic leer as she threw back her head and gritted her teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction of making her scream. He pinched harder, digging in his nails, as tears streamed down her face. It seemed an eternity later when he removed his hand from her robes and backed up, letting her sink to the floor. Hermione felt nothing but relief and a too-familiar numbness as Ron leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Behave now, pet. Daddy will come to play with you more soon."

He swept from the library, and Hermione stared blankly at the floor. Had she really felt so happy and safe in this secluded alcove just minutes ago? Now the remoteness of the area seemed ominous to her. Hidden places meant that objects, acts were unseen. He could have done anything he'd wanted to her, if he had performed a silencing charm. That fact alone was enough to make her blood run cold. As much as it had hurt, as much as her breast now throbbed, it was nothing, _nothing_ compared to what he could have done. She'd gotten off lucky. But for how long could she rely on luck?

Trying desperately to take a deep breath, Hermione could only gasp for air, nearly hyperventilating. Reaching slowly into her robe pocket, she took out her wand and murmured incantations, spells of concealment and calm. After a minute, she felt better. Her tears had subsided and a check in her compact mirror revealed that her eyes were no longer red rimmed. But she felt empty. She was numb again, not thinking beyond one fact: she had to act normal. She didn't want to be punished.

Taking out her small razor, she pulled up her sleeve, eyeing the healing red lines. She needed to cut deeper tonight. For now though, she only cut deep enough to let the blood run gently down her wrists, the crimson drawing an obscene portrait against the pale white of her arm.

In Professor Vector's classroom, Draco lounged in his usual place, anxious to see Hermione. He'd missed her during breakfast, though he'd heard about the fight with Ginny. It seemed the school gossips were good for something after all. She was probably upset, but the reports were that she'd told Ginny off, so he was encouraged that she seemed to be returning to her normal, no nonsense self. And truth be told, he was somewhat flattered that she'd stood up to her friends for him. Two years ago, he'd watched after her and only dreamed of such a situation. That it was actually happening was nothing short of miraculous.

Draco smiled and snuck a peak over his shoulder at the door. The other students were trickling in now in groups of twos and threes. It shouldn't be long now. But as his watch ticked out the minutes until the class started, his grin began to fade. Hermione was never late. Normally, she was even early. Did someone delay her? Did she regret becoming his friend, in light of her other friends' anger? He scanned the classroom carefully, praying he'd missed her coming in, only to find that he hadn't.

He was on the verge of going to look for her when she walked in at last. Draco's relieved smile at seeing her alive and unhurt was cut short as he took in her vacant expression. Waving at her, he was alarmed to see that she looked right through him and settled into the table at the very back of the room, hunched over with her hair shielding her face. Ignoring the stares, he immediately picked up his things and moved to the seat beside her, focused on her.

"Hermione?" he asked softly, mindful of the prying ears likely tuned to them, "Are you alright?"

No response. He studied her, noting her clasped hand, splattered with ink and… blood. Dried blood. Following a dark brown line up her arm to the hem of her sleeve, he breathed, "Did your cuts come open?"

She shook her head almost imperceptibly, and Draco's stomach dropped. Pulling out a piece of parchment, he wrote _Did he hurt you again?_

Pushing it as close as he could without touching her, he waited, watching as she read the note and shivered, curling into herself even more. She pulled out a quill and ink, wincing as she reached into her bag he noticed, and wrote _Yes._

Draco felt his blood pressure rise and his face flush with anger, just as the Professor burst in, excitedly babbling about new books arriving the following week.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Vector asked, his cheerful grin wavering as he spotted the pair in the last row, "Miss Granger, Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Professor." Hermione answered before he could, her voice wavering and monotone.

Draco's mind raced as Vector, appeased began chattering on about derivatives. He'd hurt her again. She was obviously afraid, and whether she'd cut herself again or that Weasel had, it was Draco's fault. He hadn't gone looking for her when she hadn't shown up to lunch, so confident he'd seen her ducking into the library. He was such an idiot! He'd known something was wrong, yet he'd failed to act. He had failed her.

Pulling the piece of parchment back to his side, he wrote furiously _I'll take care of him. Just please don't shut me out. Let me help you. _

Lowering her head, she wrote back in small letters _It's my problem, not yours._

_You don't have to always be strong by yourself. _

She raised her head to look at him at the last message, her weary eyes studying him. She decided dully that things could not get any worse and scrawled a messy reply.

_Fine. Meet me in the Room of Requirement after dinner. I'll explain then._

She refused to respond after that, no matter what he wrote. Strangely, even as the thought of telling someone filled her with terror, she also felt as if a weight were being lifted by increments off of her. She was able to take notes and write down the homework assignment. She made it through the class without breaking down into tears.

After the class ended, she gathered her stuff and shuffled to the door to find Draco waiting for her, jaw clenched. At her questioning gaze, he shrugged and said simply, "If I'm around, the bastard won't lay a finger on you."

Hermione managed a small smile. A few days ago, the whole situation would have been surreal, unimaginable. Now it seemed almost… natural. Walking to the Gryffindor common room, she felt comfortable in his presence, even without talking. He was silent, scanning the corridors and staircases they traveled. And the look in his eye made Hermione wonder if he knew a spell to make the expression 'if looks could kill' more accurate than she had previously guessed. Still she couldn't help jumping every time she spotted someone with red hair. Ron would punish her for this, she was sure. She kept a tight grip on her wand hidden within the depths of her robe, grimacing at the sting of her fresh cuts.

When they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, she hesitated. Hogwarts rules stated that a member of a different house could not enter the other houses' chambers except in cases of crises. Torn between retrieving her things and staying with him, Hermione found herself in a serious quandary.

Catching her distressed expression, Draco said, "I'll be waiting right here for you. If he's in there, come right back out."

Hermione nodded and said clearly, "Lumos maxima."

The Fat Lady swung forward, clearly dying to ask what all the cloak and dagger business was about, but stopped short at Draco's glare. Hermione clambered in, eager to slip inside, collect her items, then leave. Dashing through the crowded commons, she ran up the stairs and began throwing a change of clothes into her special purse. She'd need them, she was sure, if they were to spend another night in the Room. Pausing, she reflected on that. They'd spent two nights in a row together in the Room. Two nights and they were friends.

_How is it that in the course of two days I am better friends with Draco than I am with anyone else?_

Suddenly the door to the dorm was pushed open by none other than Lavender Brown. Upon seeing Hermione, she sniffed disdainfully and crossed to her own trunk.

"Your skeevy Slytherin boyfriend's outside waiting on you."

Biting back a scathing retort, Hermione finished throwing her clothes in her bag and made for the door. She was stopped with her hand on the doorknob when Lavender spoke up.

"If you wanted him that bad, you should have hit that _before_ he chose the wrong side of the war. Used your powers of _persuasion _to get him on the right side, yeah?"

Hermione turned to look at the arrogant bitch sitting on her bed. So that was the rumor going around. She and Draco were screwing in secret. How unoriginal. And talk about wrong sides; Lavender had obviously been placed in the wrong house. Draco may have transcended his house's reputation, but Lavender gave Gryffindor a bad name.

"You would know all about powers of persuasion, Lavender. The first years look to you for instruction in that area." Hermione said evenly before turning and shutting the door in Lavender's livid face. She just wanted to get out of Gryffindor Tower before Ron showed up.

Dashing back through the common room, she slipped her small clutch into her robe pocket, running her fingers over her wand reassuringly, keeping her hand in her pocket. She scrambled out of the portrait hole, finding Draco leaning against the opposite wall, arms crossed. His eyes flicked to her as she walked over, giving her a small smile, then darting back down the corridor, watching for Ron. She was grateful for his help; it was reassuring knowing that two pairs of eyes were on the look out. But he would need an explanation, she knew. As they walked to the Great Hall, she worried over how to tell him. He'd kept her suicide attempt to himself, for her sake, but Ron wasn't someone Draco liked. If Draco told McGonagall, the rumors and speculation would run rampant through the school, subjecting her to more scrutiny. She internally cringed at the thought. The whole school saying that she fucked Draco? She could handle that. They both knew it wasn't true, and Draco was more than just a Slytherin. But hearing about how the great Hermione Granger got raped by her old boyfriend and friend? Pathetic, they'd say. And she couldn't argue, it was simply pathetic. She couldn't handle walking down the hall catching snippets of their theories about how he'd done it. Despite the risk, she still had to tell him. It was surprising that he hadn't demanded an explanation yet. And as for her, she needed to tell someone. She already felt so alone, and this big of a secret could not be good to keep bottled up inside.

So wrapped up in her own internal dilemma, she didn't notice that they'd arrived until Draco was already pushing the doors open. Despite her determination not to care what everyone else thought about their friendship, she still felt a sharp pang of anxiety as he led her to the end of the nearly empty Gryffindor table. Taking care to keep her head high, she sat across from him, helping herself to mashed potatoes and the meatloaf closest to her.

Draco scanned the table before reaching for the serving spoon, turning his attention to her. He had assumed that she'd be more comfortable at the Gryffindor table, and was relieved to see that she appeared to be handling the whispers and stares that had broken out when they'd sat down very well. She was sitting up straight, her posture relaxed as she scooped up green beans. He would have thought that she was perfectly at ease if he hadn't been close enough to see the slight tightening around her eyes and the bright red slash her sleeve had fallen down to reveal.

"Did you hear about the second year that crashed into the Quidditch goal post this morning during practice?" he asked, trying to distract her from the situation they were in. Right then, he could care less about any explanation, though he was curious. He just wanted to see her smile again. She was beautiful all the time, but when she smiled, she lit the whole castle up. Draco worried lately that those smiles would disappear.

"No," she answered, looking up, eyes only briefly flicking at a group of jeering Hufflepuffs, "What happened?"

Draco immediately launched into a much-embellished version of the tale he'd heard during Herbology, hating how even as she grinned, her eyes remained dark and haunted. He was grateful that they were early getting to dinner, so that her friends were not there to join in the mockery and gossip. Throughout the dinner, he kept her entertained with tall tales and younger students' adventures, trying to keep her distracted. When she finally rose from the table, he was instantly quiet and alert. Would she want to go directly to the Room of Requirement? Was there any way to get there without being spotted? Was she really going to be able to tell him whatever it was that had happened?

He let her lead through the halls, ducking down a few hidden passages until at last they arrived at the empty passage with the blank expanse of wall. Here, he paced, thinking only of needing a place she would be comfortable. As he ushered her through the elegant white door that had appeared, he realized that the Room had become their own space. No one used it since the war, except them.

He followed Hermione into a small, dimly lit room. She had settled herself on a low overstuffed couch, curling herself into a ball, wrapping her arms around her knees. He shut the door quietly and faced her, unsure of how to do this.

She took a deep breath, keeping her eyes locked on his as she said flatly, "Come on over and sit with me. I've got a lot to tell you."

A/N: FINALLY done! I promise to try and update sooner, or at least write ahead if I don't have access to Wi-Fi! So what did everyone think? Please review, I'm curious to see how everyone responds to this chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Major apologies for the unplanned hiatus, my grandpa died a few days before my graduation, and to be honest, I just haven't had the heart to write. Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows, they are literally the only reason why I went ahead and wrote this chapter. Please forgive any grammatical errors, I don't have a beta, but I do the best I can. So thanks to everyone, enjoy!

Draco crossed the dimly lit room to Hermione. She seemed calm, but her twitching fingers betrayed her anxiety. He sat a careful distance away; close enough for comfort if she needed it, but far enough away so that he didn't scare her. Despite the tremendous strides they had made as friends, Draco was well aware of how precarious his situation was. He had been her enemy once, and no matter how much he would try to make up for the wrongs he had done her, he knew that one badly thought out or ill considered move on his part would end this partnership. The last thing he wanted now was for her to attempt to open herself up to him only to become frightened and bolt, so he kept his hands firmly in his lap as he pulled his legs up to sit Indian style on the low couch.

He was afraid to speak, even to encourage her to continue, in fear that she would change her mind.

Hermione took a deep breath, ignoring how the sound rattled and shook her small frame. She used sheer willpower to keep her spine straight and eyes open as she began to speak to the wall across from her. She wasn't sure she could watch Draco's face contort in horror when he heard of her weakness.

"You already know some of the story. We defeated Voldemort, Harry triumphed, the good side won. Ron and I finally admitted that we liked each other and began dating. Everything was perfect… until it wasn't.

Everyone seemed to think that we were heroes. It wasn't so bad at first; do a few interviews, tolerate a few pictures, occasionally sign a scrap of paper or two. Harry was already used to the attention, and I endured it because if I'd resisted it would have made everyone more interested simply because I avoided the limelight. Ron was pleased of course, but he was still himself, still the slightly childish Ron we all knew. But when the fans started becoming seemingly omnipresent, it was like he vanished. Not all at once, or it would have been easier. Just bit by bit, over a few months. After awhile, I noticed that he'd gone from following me everywhere to never wanting to spend any time with me at all, except to . . . well, to fuck me."

Hermione blushed at this, and she felt the cushion beneath her move as Draco shifted. No one really wanted to hear about her sex life, him least of all, she was sure. But it was important. Besides, she would have to tell him far worse soon enough.

"There really isn't another word for it. He didn't want to make love or find passion. He didn't even really want to have sex. He just wanted to fuck me. The first few times were nice; he still seemed to care about my pleasure, but he was frustrated because he could never bring me to orgasm. It made him angry. He never hurt me though. Not then. When he started withdrawing from everyone, he also stopped trying. I'd just wake up when he slipped into bed. What little foreplay there was before stopped. I just thought we were going through a rough patch and that he was stressed out over something. But then I began finding underwear in our room.

It was almost like someone was leaving them intentionally where I would find them: stuffed between the wall and the bed, sloppily shoved under the bed near my shoes, one pair was even 'hidden' under my school bag. I broke up with Ron, which of course made him angry. At that point, everything I did made him angry. We were back at school by then, and Harry tried to be neutral for a time, but eventually he went with Ron, though he's never been hateful towards me. Ginny and Neville were busy, so I was alone a lot. I was lonely, but I could have lived with that."

By then Hermione's whole body was shaking, her voice quavering though she tried desperately to steady it. She wouldn't let Ron win. She had to tell Draco. She could get it out. She would.

"One night I was up in the Astronomy tower, just thinking. It was a clear night, and I was thinking about how beautiful the stars were. Ron came up behind me and grabbed me. I didn't hear him coming, didn't even have my wand on me. He used a silencing spell on me and . . ." She nearly choked on her own tears and the word that ran through her head every time she saw him now, "he raped me."

"He told me he'd kill me if I told; besides, who did I have to tell? I lasted about three days having him leer at me every time he was around before I couldn't take it anymore. You know what happened next. After you saved me, I thought that since he'd left me alone, other than the looks I was safe now, as long as I kept my wand around. But today, when I went to the library, he found me there. He shoved me up against a bookcase and . . ." Hermione trailed off, tears streaming down her face, shaking her head, trying not to relive the horrors.

"Did he rape you again?" Draco asked, his voice like a sub artic sliver of ice piercing her misery. Hermione looked at him, shocked to find his face absolutely unreadable save for a tightness of his lips. His hands were balled into fists and he was positively vibrating with rage, but he kept his face impassive.

"No," she answered, shrinking back against the wall a bit. She hoped that his anger was not directed at her; he looked positively terrifying. "He just threatened me and, um, physically abused me a little," she finished, looking away, watching her tears fall into her lap. She didn't want to say exactly what had happened. Reality itself was bad enough without details.

"Physically abused you?" Draco asked, fighting to keep his voice even and calm, "He hit you?"

She shrank under his furious gaze, "No, not exactly," she whispered, "He was angry that I'd run out of Potions the other day because it looked odd. He said he couldn't have 'his property' misbehaving."

Draco leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb, inhaling deeply. His anger was beyond words, and he could see that she was frightened by it. Despite his ever-growing desire to go test out some of the medieval torture devices that Filtch had hidden in the basement on a certain Weasley, Hermione was more important. She'd been through a worse hell than he could have imagined, and she needed a friend. A bodyguard wouldn't hurt either. But in order for him to be either, he needed to get his temper under control before she ran screaming from the room.

Taking another deep breath in through his nose, Draco asked in what he hoped was a calm and rational tone, "Are you hurt in any way?"

Looking up when she didn't respond, he was startled to find that, while she was still crying, her face had turned crimson. She was embarrassed? After everything that she had just told him in a level voice, what was it that made her blush? She opened her mouth as if to speak, only to shut it again soundlessly.

Finally she whispered, wiping away a few tears, "Yes, but it's in a very intimate area."

Draco's blood boiled at the words, and he tried not to imagine what vile, perverted things that pile of dragon droppings had done to her. The boy would not be long for this world when Draco got ahold of his scrawny, arrogant little neck. Moving slowly so that he did not startle her, he leaned towards her, gently grasping the hand that was in her lap, wincing as he saw her flinch at his touch. He decided that he could do nothing but speak bluntly; now wasn't the time for fancy words or games.

"Hermione, if you are hurt at all and feel comfortable letting me do so, please let me heal you. I can't go out and hunt down that walking pile of shit right now, but I want to help you in any way I can. I won't let him hurt you again, I promise you that." He tried to catch her eye, but understood when she wouldn't meet his gaze. After what she'd been through, he was amazed that she'd even let him near her.

Hermione gazed down at Draco's hand wrapped around her own, marveling at how comforting the feeling of contact was, though she hadn't been able to help cringing at first. He didn't hate her, or blame her. He wanted to help. Thinking back to the Malfoy of first year, she managed a small smile. Surreal situations seemed to be the new normal for her.

Sighing, she straightened, looking Draco square in the eyes.

"I have several bruises on my arms and left breast because he held me to a bookcase and put his hand down my robes in a very forceful manner," She said plainly, trying not to think about what she was saying, "I really appreciate your offer to heal me, but it's not necessary. As for the rest . . ." Pausing, she tried to think of the best way to put it, "I would appreciate having you around." This wasn't exactly what she meant, but what else was she to say? 'I love spending time with you, please stay'?

Draco flushed with embarrassment at her explanation of her discomfort, but was pleased that she would allow him to stay with her. Between the two of them, they were perhaps the smartest students in Hogwarts. He'd already been on the receiving end of Hermione's wrath, and Draco was already plotting various ways to repay the git for the hell he'd put Hermione through. Weasel-bee didn't stand a chance.

"Thank you," Draco replied quietly, well aware that he was the one receiving more than she was. He would have protected her from that monster whether she had allowed it or not, but now he was able to do so while also spending time with her. Surely his luck had to run out sometime? Deciding to test his luck just a little more, he drew Hermione into his arms, relishing the way she fit perfectly there. She seemed to melt into him, wrapping her arms around him and tucking her face into his neck. He rested his head on hers, burying his face in her lavender scented hair. Despite the tension he'd seen in her before, she seemed to be comfortable with him. Perhaps she was growing fond of him?

_Snap out of it_ he told himself_ she's just in a really bad situation and needs someone to trust in. _

Hermione herself was finding it hard to stay awake. It was still early, but she was exhausted mentally and physically. Besides that, Draco was very comfortable, and after everything she'd told him, still here. She decided not to question it; to just be thankful that the one person she had by her side was him.

"Draco?" She asked sleepily.

"Yes, Hermione?" he answered, rubbing her back.

"Looks like I beat you to the punch; I got to tell you my dirty stories first." She said innocently, liking the way his chest rumbled when he laughed. His reply was lost in the darkness behind her eyelids as she finally succumbed to sleep.

Watching her eyes flutter closed, Draco felt a rush of pure compassion for the small girl. He'd known she was the strong one from the first time he'd seen her. It was a testament to her that she'd lasted this long on her own in such a difficult situation. Stretching out slowly so that he didn't wake her, he laid them both down and conjured up pillows and blankets. Draping a blanket over her inert frame, he smiled as she grabbed onto the front of his robes in her sleep, mumbling. He wrapped an arm around her and dimmed the lights, closing his eyes. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She wasn't his, but he could fix that later, if she didn't hex him first.

A/N: I know, it's short, I'm sorry! I promise to make the next chapter longer! Please review with ideas or thoughts, they make my day!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey guys! I actually have time to write again, strange concept! Now I just need to get constant access to Wi-Fi. Thanks go out to Morena25, LadyNorth76, and NotoriousNat for their awesome reviews and to everyone who has favorited or followed this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Hermione woke in the early hours of the morning, much too early judging by the moonlight playing across the floor through the window. She tried to stretch, but was stopped by Draco's arm around her waist. Carefully, she rolled to face him, marveling at how easily she accepted the fact that they'd slept together. Platonically, of course. His face was so open and vulnerable during sleep; it was a startling contrast to the serious or mocking expressions that he normally wore. Smiling, she reached out and smoothed back a piece of his bangs that had fallen into his eyes. Strange, but she didn't feel wary around him anymore.

As she let her hand trail down the side of his face to trace his jawline, his eyes opened, bleary with sleep. Hermione jumped back a little and let her hand drop from his face, suddenly embarrassed. What the hell had she been doing? Draco didn't seem upset at all. He reached for her, smiling sleepily.

"Hermione," he breathed, winding a lock of her hair around his finger, "So beautiful."

Hermione had only enough time to widen her eyes before he had pulled her gently to him and kissed her. Not demanding, the kiss was chaste and sweeter than candy, even if she couldn't get over the shock that Draco Malfoy was kissing her. Her head whirled with questions and confusion as she held perfectly still as his lips pressed against hers, wondering if she was actually awake, or if this was just another dream. A damn good dream, but a dream nonetheless. Her face flushed and heart beating a tattoo against her ribs, she decided to enjoy her dream, as she opened her mouth to kiss him back, reveling in the sensations. If this was a dream, it might be her favorite dream ever.

At last, Draco pulled away and lay back down, a grin stretching from ear to ear as he sank into the couch, pulling her to him. Allowing it, Hermione tried to relax against him, bracing herself for whatever he would do next. As the seconds, then minutes passed, her puzzlement grew. Finally, she leaned her head back to look at the silver haired boy, only to find his eyes shut again, his breathing deep and regular. Draco had fallen asleep again! So this wasn't a dream then. If it had been her dream, Hermione was sure she would have made things go a little further. Lying back down next to him, her head pillowed on his chest, she contemplated what it all meant. He obviously hadn't been fully awake when he'd kissed her and said that she was beautiful, so he must like her as more than a friend, but was keeping it to himself. She had to admit, it would explain a lot of his odd behaviors: why he'd saved her from killing herself, why he was so set on becoming her friend, and why he had been so angry at Ron when he'd learned what he'd done.

_It all makes sense_ she though _so why can't I wrap my head around it?_

Trying to ignore it and go back to sleep proved fruitless; she ended up lying in his arms for the rest of the night, her eyes tracking the patch of moonlight as it meandered slowly across the floor. She didn't dare move; what if he woke up and kissed her again? Sure, she'd thought about what it would be like to kiss him, and she'd most certainly enjoyed kissing him, but it wasn't a good idea. Ron would go ballistic when he found out; what would he do to them then? Besides that, Draco was her only friend at the moment, what with Ginny turning on her. Did she really want to lose another friend because she found him attractive and couldn't keep her hormones in check?

When Draco finally groaned and opened his eyes much later, Hermione was decided. She wouldn't pursue him, and she wouldn't date him if he asked. It was for the best, she told herself as she slipped on her robes in the next room, everything would be much simpler this way. But as he held open the door for her and smiled in that half-smirking manner of his, she couldn't help but flash back to that morning. Remembering how gentle he'd been, even in sleep, and the feel of his lips pressing against her own, her cheeks burned and she mumbled only a brief thank you as she ducked past him hurriedly.

Draco was bewildered at her behavior. After all that she'd revealed the night before, he'd expected her to be a bit stand offish today, but it was more than that. She hadn't killed him this morning when she'd woken up with him next to her, she was avoiding conversation at all costs, and he could have sworn he'd seen her blush just now when he'd smiled at her.

Trailing behind her as she speed walked up the corridor, he only just remembered to keep an eye out for the flaming bastard. Hermione flew around corners and through tapestries concealing secret corridors; it was almost as if she were trying to lose him. She never looked back at him, but he made sure to keep pace with her, albeit with some difficulty. It was with some surprise that he followed her around a corner on the second floor only to nearly smash into her.

Hermione turned to face him, her eyes lowered, "Wait here, I'll be right out, okay?"

Draco murmured an acceptance and watched in befuddlement as she slipped into the girls' restroom. Had she really had to pee so badly? Was she embarrassed at having him accompany her to the restroom? He supposed either could be an acceptable explanation, except that neither accounted for the continued absence of bodily harm to himself for sleeping with her.

Lost in his thoughts, Draco forgot to watch the hallway, and nearly leapt out of his skin when someone put a hand on his shoulder. Whirling around, he came face to face with his second most hated person on the planet: Harry Potter. Fighting against the ingrained habit of sneering at Potter, he asked, "Yes?"

"I just want to know what the hell you're doing with Hermione," Harry said, keeping his voice neutral and face impassive.

Draco frowned, "I don't know what you mean, Potter, but I'm not hurting her."

"Bullshit. You may not be calling her Mudblood anymore, but you've always been up to something slimy and malevolent, Malfoy," Harry growled, dropping any pretense of civility, leaning towards Draco, "Whatever the hell you're planning, you can forget it. Hermione's been to hell and back and damned if I'm going to let you fuck with her just for your own sadistic pleasure. So consider this your warning: leave her alone or else."

Leaning back against the stone wall, Draco crossed his arms, regarding Harry with absolute disgust, not believing his ears. Was this idiot actually serious?

"First of all, Potter, Hermione is her own person. If she chooses to hang out with me, that is not your concern-"

"Not my concern? She's my friend!" Harry burst out, glaring furiously at Draco.

"Friend? Could have fooled me. From what I've seen, you never talk to her anymore. Sit in the general vicinity of her, sure, but when was the last time you talked to her? Or is friendship by telepathy the new trend?"

Harry sputtered, struggling to come up with words in his anger, "I haven't- You- She- That's not the point! I would never hurt her!"

Draco just looked at his old nemesis in utter contempt, "Really? Because, last I checked, abandonment by a 'best friend' is considered hurtful, if not complete betrayal. And that's not even mentioning what your little girlfriend and her brother did to her. Hell and back? Hell has been her home for the last half year. And you haven't even noticed, have you? You're so wrapped up in your own little bubble that you haven't seen what she's been all but screaming to the world. I'm trying to help her, to make her happy again, since obviously none of you care enough after all she's done for you."

Harry stood there, mouth opening and shutting in soundless rage before plunging his hand into his pocket, seeking his wand. Draco looked on with complete hatred of the pathetic boy who stood before him, wand already drawn but at his side. For what little good intentions Potter had, his actions and self-righteous manner made him sick. If this was the sort of friends Hermione was dealing with, he could understand why she'd been so distraught.

Hermione walked up to Draco, finding him lounging against the wall, scowling at a furious Harry, both with wands out. Surprised as she was to see them within cursing distance of each other, she was startled to see the look of absolute disgust and hatred in Draco's eyes. Harry was practically frothing at the mouth, he was so angry. Taken aback, she said quietly, "Draco? Harry?"

They both whipped around to face her, Harry's eyes going wide at the sight of her.

"'Mione, I was just-"

"Harry here was just telling me that I shouldn't keep you from breakfast. Apparently the pancakes are delicious today," Draco cut in smoothly, slipping his wand into his pocket and smiling at her. He looked calm but in a restrained way. She could tell he was only a few minutes from snapping.

Wondering what in the world they had been fighting over, she nodded and started down the corridor towards the Great Hall, pretending not to hear Harry's whisper.

"The warning still stands, Malfoy."

A/N: So what does everyone think? Thoughts and comments are always helpful, they keep me writing and I treasure every review!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you all so much for following and favoriting this story! Special thanks go out to shaymars, , ShadowDancer1629, NotoriousNat and allisath for their amazing reviews! I debated long and hard about how to make Harry react, but in the end, I had to go with what I think he would have done. I hope you enjoy….

Harry stood there in the hallway, absolutely shaken to his core by seeing Hermione walk off with Malfoy. Malfoy, that creep! How had Hermione, the smartest person he'd ever known, been hoodwinked by that bastard? And what rubbish Malfoy had spouted off! Trying to make her happy… He knew Hermione had been busy this year, trying to take all the classes so that she wouldn't miss one that was offered, probably. He'd given her space; since the break up hanging out with both of them was incredibly awkward, and recently it had become impossible. Hermione was only seen at meals, and she seemed to actively avoid Ron. Harry figured it must have been one hell of a nasty break up; neither of them had told him the details beyond the standard, "It's just not working anymore." Whatever had gone on had left her hurt, and he'd never been sure of how to help them both. But despite what had happened, he was sure that Ron and Ginny would never hurt Hermione. Ginny was the whole reason that he'd interfered. He'd noticed Malfoy hanging out with her before, but it shouldn't have lasted long. Hermione was far from stupid. But Ginny said that Hermione had defended Malfoy's behavior and bullying, even though he had upset her enough to run out of class.

"_Please, Harry," Ginny had asked, concerned eyes glittering with tears, "She didn't listen to me, but you're her best friend! You need to stop this, before she gets hurt even worse!" _

When he'd agreed to help the night before, it had seemed simple. Approach Hermione, make her see reason, go on with life. He hadn't planned on losing his temper and confronting Malfoy directly. He hadn't planned on Hermione walking away without saying a word. She certainly seemed happier with Malfoy, but if he was lying to her to gain her affections, or even… Harry shuddered at the thought of Malfoy toying with Hermione to entice her into bed. He sighed. What to do now? Ron had told him just day before last that he wished that they could hang out again, like old times. Truth be told, Harry missed the threesome's glory days. He missed Hermione.

Beginning the long walk back to the Gryffindor common room, Harry sighed, his heart heavy. Where was the solution to this mess?

Sitting again at the Gryffindor table, Hermione dug into her pancakes with single-minded ferocity. If she was eating, she couldn't be expected to look at him, could she? How could she look at him, sitting there calmly as he sipped his black coffee and scanned over Transfiguration notes? He seemed wholly unaware of the raging maelstrom he'd stirred within her within only a few hours. Finally, he spoke.

"Nargles got your tongue?"

"No," Hermione replied briskly, stabbing her pancake, "Not at all."

"Hermione, you're committing pancake-icide. Either you heard the conversation and want to yell at me or something else is up. Go ahead and say it." Draco said, laying down the paper in concern. She was obviously seriously pissed off, but he couldn't think of what he'd done wrong.

Hermione put down a fork with a clatter and crossed her arms and glared defiantly at Draco, watching his eyes widen with a small amount of satisfaction.

"Fine then. Let me see if I have this correct. Harry approached you to tell you to leave me alone, right?" When he nodded, she continued, "And then judging by the fact that he looked like a rabid dog about to attack you, you defended me and told him where to shove it?"

Draco smirked and nodded again, "Not in so many words, no, but that pretty well sums it up, yes."

"Then here is my question: Why the hell do they think that it is any way, shape, or form their business who or what I do?" Hermione burst out, struggling to keep her voice low, "At one time they might have had the right to comment, only comment, about whom I talked to, but not to the point of warning them off! And that was when they were still my friends and not gigantic assholes that abandoned me! They have absolutely no right!"

Draco watched this outburst with an intense sense of relief. Hermione was back. The real Hermione.

"I agree, they are way out of line. They had no right to do that. They're obviously way out of line and I'm not going anywhere just because His Great Pratiness has thrown a fit." Draco said soothingly, while secretly enjoying the show. Hermione had always been a force to be reckoned with, but when she was truly incensed, she was a force of nature.

"And of course they wouldn't come to ME with their stupid concerns! Of COURSE not, why would they? I'm just the person it concerns! Do they think I am so stupid that I'm not even worth talking to anymore! Those arrogant PRICKS!" Hermione finished her pancake and shoved the plate away angrily, nearly upending her pumpkin juice.

Struggling to hide his grin of amusement, Draco, reached across the table and grabbed her hand, holding it for a moment, "Don't let them upset you so much. They aren't worth it, and they aren't going to change anything between us. Though I must ask, when did you 'do' me?" giving her a cheeky grin.

Hermione, who'd gone still as stone when he'd touched her, gasped and pulled her hand away, crossing her arms, "I said no such thing!"

Draco laughed, "On the contrary. I believe your exact words were 'who or what I do'."

Hermione was at a loss for words. It had made sense in her head when she'd said it, but in her anger and the tumult of emotions she'd forgotten to account for that meaning! Her hand burned pleasantly where he'd touched her, and she found herself cursing her newfound awareness of him.

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"Really? Or a slip of the tongue, perhaps? They say that what you reveal when you're angry is that which you would not normally admit…" Draco teased, leaning back on the bench.

Shaking her head in both denial of his claims and denial of her own feelings, Hermione stood from the table and scooped up her bag, automatically brushing a hand over her pocket, making sure that her wand was there. "If you'll stop going on and on about your ridiculous fantasy, we need to get to Potions."

"MY fantasy?" Draco said mock astonished, obediently picking up his own bag and following her "No, I believe it was you who said it."

Hermione ignored his vulgar ramblings on the way to class. She'd learned that these taunts were actually his way of hiding his actual emotions. _He's probably flummoxed as to why I said that, _she thought with a smirk, _thrown him into a right tizzy at least. _

Her mind wandered again to Harry. She'd always thought he was meddlesome to the point of idiocy, but this was too far! They actually thought they could dictate her life! Besides, they were completely stuck in their old prejudices against Draco! He had been nothing but sweet and supportive to her! He was actually there for her when none of them were and he genuinely cared about her! If she wanted to date him that was none of their business! She would date whomever she wanted, damn them all!

Then she thought about what she'd just thought and stopped in the middle of the hall. She would date whomever she wanted. By god, she WOULD date whomever she wanted, damn the consequences!

Tuning back in to Draco's chatter, she found that he was now suggesting that they could duck into an alcove and go at it if that was really what she wanted. Well, why not take him up on it?

Grabbing his hand, Hermione pulled him into one of the alcoves that lined the deserted corridor and spun to face him. Reaching up quickly to cup the back of his head, she pulled him down and kissed him hard. All of her frustration, anger, gratefulness that he was there, was placed into that kiss.

Pulling back, she regarded his stunned face for a moment before saying simply, "You kissed me last night and told me I was beautiful. I thought you should know, I'm attracted to you as well."

Letting go, she walked back out to the corridor and looked back, not surprised to find him frozen, his face a mask of shock.

"Come on, Romeo, we still have to get to class."

It was almost alarming how fast he jumped up to carry her bag to class for her.

A/N: There we are! They are finally admitting their feelings for each other, but there are still some problems in their way! More of Harry in the next chapter. I'm tossing around a few ideas for a Harry/Ginny story, but the first chapter isn't written except in my head, sadly. Also, if anyone is interested in beta-ing or knows a good beta, PM me! Please review, I love reading your thoughts and comments! I will send what I've written so far for chapter ten to everyone who leaves a review!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Chapter 10 is up! I am so sorry for the slow updates here recently, I'm currently housesitting a house in the country with no internet, so the only way I can upload chapters is to go to the library twenty miles away this summer. I am writing ahead though, so don't worry I won't abandon this story! Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited! Big thanks go out to shaymars, WillowsFolly, NO601859, allisath, SupernaturalGirl51799, FleurDeNuage, Cyalyn, and TomFelton'sGal-xoxo for their encouraging reviews, I loved them all! I hope everyone enjoys!

Draco was, to put it nicely, convinced that the day was all a hallucination. Because it was impossible that Hermione Granger, the girl he'd had a crush on since third year, had kissed him and told him that she fancied him too. He'd dreamed about it before, when he was completely high on pain potion in the hospital wing, but there was no way that it had happened. But there was Hermione; giving him that saucy little smile as she stirred the periwinkle blue potion they were supposed to be brewing together. He didn't even remember walking to class after the kiss, much less what that concoction was supposed to be. Glancing down at his book, he saw that he must have opened it unconsciously to the right page. Apparently they were brewing Amortentia. Probably half the class was already planning to slip the love potion to someone. Judging by the number of melted cauldrons so far, it would be a busy week for Madam Pomfrey. Glancing over at Hermione, he found himself thinking that he would have tried to slip her some if she hadn't kissed him.

He was all but useless for the rest of the class, too lost in his own bewildered thoughts to be much help, except to cut up various ingredients, and even then he managed to cut open his fingers several times. It was just as well that he knew the proper healing spell, he would have ran around for the rest of the day with cut fingers rather than ask Hermione to heal him. He'd probably embarrassed himself enough around her. Sighing, he wondered what she'd meant when she'd said that he'd kissed her last night. He had a rather nasty suspicion that his dream last night had been a little too real. But if Hermione wanted him because of it, he sure as hell wasn't going to complain.

At the end of class, he picked up her bag for her without being asked. The strap cut into his shoulder, but he didn't mind. Better his shoulder than hers. As long as she was his, he'd gladly carry her ridiculously heavy bag for her and be happy about it.

Hermione was amused. It seemed that she'd found one surefire way to shut up Draco Malfoy. She could tell that he wasn't mentally present in any of his classes all morning. Not in Potions, Transfiguration, or even lunch. He'd stopped threatening all the catcallers with horrible hexes and picked at his fried chicken, which he'd told her earlier, he loved. She was worried when they had to split up for the afternoon, but supposed that he couldn't hurt himself too terribly in History of Magic.

In Herbology, she was somewhat surprised to find that they had an easy task that day.

"Harvest part of the leaves off of the Cupid's bushes, and collect as many as possible within the hour. Be careful though; while the leaves are used in pain draughts, the lilac dust on them can cause feelings of euphoria and an altered sense of reality, hence why the dust is used in love potions." Professor Sprout instructed them before bustling out, leaving her N.E.W.T students staring after her, bemused at the lack of venom or fangs or barbed vines in their lesson.

Grabbing her basket and clipping scissors, Hermione set to work on the smallest bush, being careful not to take too many, else she harm the plant. The rest of the class was goofing around, rejoicing at their easy task, and a group of Hufflepuffs huddled around a basket in the corner, sniffing the leaves. Hermione grinned, remembering what Professor Sprout had said about the dust. Though it was only November, today felt like everything revolved around love. Amortentia was the most powerful love potion and now their main ingredient in Herbology. The last time their classes were so themed was Valentine's Day two years ago. Flitwick had taught them a charm that turned hair pink and McGonagall had showed them how to turn biscuits into chocolate. Even Snape had gone along with it, in his own way. They had brewed the Draught of Hell, a potion that made the drinker believe he was being burned alive. Hermione smiled; it was nice when things worked out. What she and Draco had was not love, not yet, but it was a beginning that she looked forward to.

A thump alerted her to Harry's presence as he set down his basket and moved beside her. Her happy mood vanishing instantly, she glanced over her shoulder, scanning the class for Ron. Normally, Ron was wherever Harry was, but he was conspicuously absent.

Harry watched her look around before facing him and said quietly, "He had a late night visitor last night. He was still asleep at lunch."

It took all of Hermione's willpower to keep from puking into the bush. While she'd been reliving the horror of him raping her, he'd been fucking another girl? Why the hell had he even bothered, he obviously had willing girls flocking to him! The answer was simple of course; he'd done it for the simple sadistic pleasure of watching her in pain.

Pushing this aside, she replied, "Ah, so now that I'm alone and you don't have Ronald watching your every move, you'll speak to me. Interesting."

Harry groaned and tried to explain, "I didn't mean to blow up at Malfoy, I was actually looking for you. I just wanted to talk to you, but when I saw him lurking outside of the girls' bathroom, I just lost it. Seriously Hermione, what are you thinking?"

This last was asked so sincerely, so earnestly, that the anger Hermione felt slipped a fraction. Harry looked on as she gathered her thoughts, genuinely confused as to why Hermione Granger, his best friend and brilliant witch was hanging around with Draco Malfoy. She'd told him several times before that she hated him, but this year… everything seemed to be different this year.

"Harry, you know as well as I do that after Ron and I broke up, you sided with him. Sure, Ginny talked to me once in awhile, and Neville was nice enough when he had time, but who did that leave me with? No one. You all abandoned me and I was lonely. I know that you probably didn't intend to be cruel, but I was having a hard time, and I still am to an extent, but Draco has been there for me," Hermione answered slowly, trying to choose the words that would make him understand. Out of her old friends, Harry was the most likely to understand, "He's done things in the past that I hate, but I can tell the War changed him. It changed us all, in different ways. I believe that it changed Draco for the better. Since we've been friends, he's done nothing but make me feel welcome and happy. He makes me forget how sad I've been lately. Ginny may be mad at me all she likes, and you can too if you want, but Draco has been there for me and you all haven't. For that reason and others, I'm not going to stop hanging out with him just because you ask."

Going back to her harvesting calmly, Hermione listened to Harry's breathing, even and quiet as he thought over what she'd said. He couldn't argue that they'd all grown apart this last year, and it was partially his fault. But Malfoy?

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I should have been there for you, and I want to fix that. But-"

"Don't apologize," Hermione cut in, not raising her head from her work, "If you hadn't deserted me, I wouldn't have had a reason to let Draco in."

Harry took a deep breath and took a moment to think. If he wanted any chance to make things right with her, he needed to say this with extreme caution.

"'Mione… I'm worried. You know that, and I know you have an argument for whatever I could say. I don't trust Malfoy, but I do trust you. If you say that he hasn't done anything, then I believe you. So I'll try to be polite to him and I won't say anything else about what a slimeball he used to be unless I see something specific now. If you're happy hanging out with him, then as your friend, I'll try to support that. I'm sorry about earlier, I should have come to you first." Harry said quietly, lowering his head and fiddling with his equipment in case Professor Sprout returned, watching Hermione out of the corner of his eye.

Tilting her head, Hermione considered. He seemed sincere enough, but why should she believe him? She never thought there would be a time when she wouldn't trust Harry, but after the last couple of months, she trusted Draco more than she trusted Harry.

"Why should I believe you?" she asked simply.

Harry winced, that was the question he wished she wouldn't ask.

"I don't have a reason. I regret what we did and want to make it up to you, even if I have to put up with Malfoy." Harry said, grimacing.

Hermione giggled and looked over finally, smiling slightly.

"He's not like he used to be," she said softly, "Even today, would have cursed you in a second in sixth year. I know you don't believe me, but he's changed."

Harry nodded, "I figured he didn't because he wanted to stay on your good side. Hermione… please don't be offended, I just need to ask… He hasn't tried anything inappropriate with you, has he?"

Smirking, Hermione replied, "He still has all his limbs, doesn't he?" while thinking _Not yet, at least. Harry should be more worried about me being inappropriate with Draco than the other way around. _

Harry laughed and shook his head, "Stupid question, sorry."

Professor Sprout bustled back in just then, sending the Hufflepuffs in the corner and the majority of the class fumbling for their equipment, "Hurry up, hurry up! You should all be finished with your bushes by now! Good job Miss Granger, nice to see someone stays on task, help Mr. Potter over there now-"

The rest of the hour was spent in mostly silence with the exception of one Hufflepuff boy ranting about flying snakes melting into the trees, the result of inhaling too many leaves. Harry kept Hermione entertained with muttered comments on the others and escorted her to dinner. Hermione found herself caught up in the conversation, laughing and talking as if there had never been a four-month break in their friendship. She had to admit, she'd missed Harry. However, when they entered the Great Hall and found Ron waiting for Harry, her stomach dropped through the floor. She'd seen way too much of him.

"Um, I'm not really hungry, I'm going to go to the library and finish some homework," she said, feeling queasy. Harry looked over and frowned. She'd just been telling him how good the roast beef smelled.

"'Mione, Ron feels bad about everything too. He told me just a few nights ago how much he misses you," Harry said, trying to encourage her. He didn't understand why she went white as a sheet at his statement.

"Yeah, but I really need to do my Arithmancy assignment before Professor Vector kills me. I'll catch you later though, okay?" Hermione said, dashing off before he could reply.

Ron saw their exchange, and smiled at Harry's obvious confusion. The Chosen One he might be, but Harry was always a little oblivious. He quickly arranging his features into a mask of confusion as Harry approached, shaking his head.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ron asked, genuinely curious how Harry had managed to get back on Hermione's good side. He'd worked for months to separate them, and then he slept in for a day and woke up to find them made up? Unacceptable. She was so much easier to control when he didn't have to dodge her friends and she might even get it into her head to blab to them.

"I don't know…" Harry replied, looking back at the doors as he sat down, " We made up, and everything was good, besides the Malfoy bit. Then she came in and suddenly looked sick. She said she had homework to do."

Ron ducked his head to hide his smirk. He was getting through at last. His little pet was afraid of him, poor thing. Maybe he should visit her just a little sooner than he'd planned, put her mind at ease. Couldn't have her hiding away all the time now. Then the name registered.

"What about Malfoy?" he asked, not hiding the concern in his voice.

"She refuses to stop seeing Malfoy, so I promised to be polite to him," Harry replied, spooning mashed potatoes onto his plate absently, "I'm not looking forward to it, but she's convinced that he's changed somehow. I figured at least this way we could keep an eye on him."

Ron nodded slowly, thinking. Malfoy was becoming more than just a nuisance. If his pet continued to hide behind him, Malfoy would end up the worse for it. Now it seemed like she was developing feelings for the git. No, it just wouldn't do. He'd have to take care of it.

Then he brought up the last Quidditch match, changing the subject and distracting Harry. Neither of them noticed when a certain blonde Slytherin stood up from the Gryffindor table and took off after Hermione, bloody half moons adorning his palms from clenching his fists in an effort not to punch either of dunces masquerading as her friends.

A/N: I am still looking for a beta; if anyone is interested or knows a good beta, please PM me! Chapter eleven is in the works and I will again send what I have done on Chapter eleven to anyone who reviews! In any case, please review; I love hearing everyone's thoughts on the story, and will take criticism, just don't completely flame me.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Chapter eleven is done! Thanks to everyone who followed or favorited this story! Big thank you to shaymars, chantpleure, ShadowDancer1629, NO601859, angstar54, Grovek26, allisath, and NotoriousNat for reviewing. Also, a ginormous thank you to my beta, allisath! Enjoy!

By the time Hermione reached the library, she was calmer. Seeing Ron after the pleasant day she'd had had been a harsh shock, but he hadn't done anything. _You can do this,_ she told herself, _and after all, you're far better at spells than that idiot. You had your wand and were in the middle of the Great Hall for God's sake! He wouldn't dare do anything!_ But knowing all this didn't stop her from shaking as she selected the books she needed. She was nearly caught up in her work now, thanks to some covert essay writing in the back of her classes that morning, but she actually did need to do homework. After checking out her books hurriedly, she headed for the Room of Requirement, anxious to get away from the library. Normally, she loved the library, but Ron had probably heard where she was going and after the other day, it would never be the same. He had violated and tainted her hideout with that horrible act.

_Draco is probably worried about me,_ she thought, finally remembering. _We were going to meet for dinner. I'd better let him know what's going on._

Walking swiftly in front of the wall three times, she entered a brightly lit room lined with bookcases, a cherry wood desk placed near an enormous window that showcased the sun just beginning to set outside. Placing her bag on the desk, she rummaged for parchment and quill. She scribbled, 'Made up mostly with Harry, didn't want to put up with Ron. I'm in our place, doing homework' and folded it into an origami swan. Opening a window, she let the gentle breeze pull it out of her hand and turned around, leaving the window open. It was really nice for November, seventy-three degrees if you could believe it, and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. Settling into the desk chair, she sighed, pushing thoughts of Ron out of her head. She didn't have the energy to deal with it right now.

She was just tackling McGonagall's essay on animal-to-animal transfiguration when the door opened behind her with a creak. For a second she was alarmed, wondering if Ron had figured out where she'd been hiding, before remembering that she'd asked the Room to only allow Draco to enter. From behind, Draco wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on her shoulder, silently. It was such a natural gesture, it didn't even occur to Hermione to question it.

Waiting a beat, Hermione finally spoke, "I take it you got my message?"

"What message?" came the muffled reply from her shoulder.

"Oh, well I sent you a swan-" Hermione began, breaking off when the swan in question drifted in through the window to land on Draco's head. Draco groaned and let her go reluctantly to grab the swan, sinking to the floor as he unfolded it.

"I saw what happened in the Great Hall," he said after reading it and refolding it, reaching up to place the swan on the desk, "I would have come after you sooner, but I wanted to hear what the two idiots would say."

Hermione leaned back in her chair, folding her arms and sighing resignedly, "Let me guess; Harry was absolutely befuddled but didn't dwell on it for long and Ron was annoyed at being left out."

"Dead on about Harry. Ron was actually more curious, until Harry brought up me. Then he looked pretty pissed, to be honest." Draco answered, clenching his fists again; "I don't see how you managed to be friends with them for so many years if they couldn't see how upset you were. _I_ could see it and I haven't been friends with you nearly as long!"

Hermione answered quietly, "Harry knew something was wrong; he even guessed that it was Ron, but he just figured that I didn't want to go over because of the break up. Ron knew why I was upset; he just enjoys my fear, I think."

"Harry should know it's more than just a bad breakup after all this time! He should do something more than just walk off and leave you, even if it is the right thing!" Draco snarled, more to himself than her.

Pausing, Hermione thought that Draco was a little wound up over what was to her, a comparatively minor incident. He was practically frothing at the mouth. Then she realized, he'd probably been sitting at the table, mere feet from the asshole for a while, waiting for her. She may be somewhat used to the fact that Ron was a monster who'd raped her, but Draco had only just found out. She was probably lucky that he hadn't attacked Ron right in the middle of the Great Hall under the teachers' noses.

Reaching down to cup his cheek, she pulled him around to face her before saying "Yes, but I have you to do that. I know that you'll be around to help me, so I'm not worried at all." Leaning down, she kissed him gently, brushing her lips to his briefly before pulling back and announcing, "I've got a ton of homework to do, but if you want to go back down to dinner, I bet they're gone by now."

Draco blinked up at her, dazed. So he hadn't imagined it. She'd kissed him again. She… wanted him? As a boyfriend, lover? Well, maybe not lover, not after the great walking pile of dragon shit, but certainly as more than a friend. He'd never seen her kiss Harry, so she wasn't that type of girl who kisses her friends. But why was she looking at him so expectantly? Was he supposed to do something?

"Sorry, what?" he asked finally, turning a deeper shade of red.

Hermione barely restrained herself from giggling. That seemed to have distracted him nicely. She was sure that they'd have to have a talk in the near future, but it could wait until after dinner at least. She was really hungry.

"I asked if you wanted to go down for dinner. Harry and Ron are probably done by now, and I can hear your stomach growling from over here." She replied patiently, fighting down the grin tugging at her lips.

"Dinner, right. Sounds good." Draco said somewhat absentmindedly, rising from the floor and offering her his hand. She took it happily, her mind already downstairs devouring half the dishes she'd glimpsed earlier. As he led her through the hallways, still with her hand in his, he marveled at how easily she could throw him for a loop. One kiss and he was putty in her hands. Glancing back at her, he noticed how serene she looked, smiling happily at the prospect of dinner. It was incredible to see how much she had changed since he'd saved her. He smiled back at her, thinking _I don't know what's going to happen with us, or if she even wants to be an 'us', but no matter what happens I'll try my damnedest to keep her happy, just so I can see her smile like that every day._

. . . . .

"You WHAT?!" Ginny yelled, wrenching herself away from Harry's embrace, retreating to the other side his bed.

Internally thankful he'd remembered to put a silencing charm on his bed, Harry replied, " I said I'd try to be polite to him. He is her friend, Ginny, I have to respect that."

"No," Ginny said frantically, shaking her head furiously, her eyes troubled and glazed, "Isn't there some rule that says you have to intervene with all necessary force when your friend is acting insane?"

"That's the thing, I don't think she's insane. This is Hermione we're talking about; she never does anything without overthinking it five ways to Sunday. And when I thought about it, I realized that Malfoy actually hasn't done anything this year. No cursing the first years, no rounding up a posse, no snide comments in the hallway or anything. Hermione thinks he's changed, and I trust her. So far, the evidence is on her side," Harry replied patiently, hardly believing he was actually saying this, "I think we should support her."

"Evidence? You want evidence?" Ginny said somewhat hysterically, crossing her arms, "First year, he lures you into a fake duel to get you in trouble with Filtch and ratted out Hagrid and Norbert. Second year he called Hermione 'Mudblood' every chance he got and bought his way onto the Quidditch team just to upstage you. Third year he would have beaten up Ron and I at the Shrieking Shack if you hadn't been hiding, then told Snape when you got revealed. Fourth year he started that whole 'Potter Stinks' campaign and rooted for your death. Fifth year he was a general bully and asshole. Sixth year he let Death Eaters in the castle and would have killed Dumbledore if Snape hadn't done it. He ran away from the battle at Hogwarts because he's a coward. And the biggest piece of evidence? That Dark Mark on his arm! Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater!"

Harry frowned, "Ginny, I told you the last thing Dudley said to me when they had to move out of the house on Privet Drive, right?"

Ginny mumbled sullenly, "Yes."

"'I don't think you're a waste of space'. After his whole life of treating me like the lowest form of shit on the planet, he changed. If DUDLEY can do that, then I have to at least consider the fact that Malfoy might too," he said firmly, trying to get Ginny to see sense. He had the sinking feeling he wasn't going to get lucky tonight.

Ginny just sat and shook her head, her face determined.

"No, not Malfoy. If Snape could make everyone believe he was a committed Death Eater for seventeen years, Malfoy can pretend to be a nice guy for a few weeks to get Hermione."

Harry couldn't think of an argument.

"Hermione would know; she's freaking brilliant, surely she'd know," he said finally.

"Oh God, Hermione," Ginny said, burying her face in her hands, "How could she DO this to you two? After everything he's done to all of you, is she really that desperate for sex?"

Harry stared at her, open mouthed, "You seriously just said that Hermione Granger, war hero and brilliant witch, is sleeping with Malfoy because she's desperate? She could have any guy she wanted!"

Ginny brought her head up and fixed him with her best try-me-at-your-own-risk stare, "Then why else would she hang out with him?"

"She's probably lonely. Lets face it, we've all been really busy this year, she probably dying for someone to talk to," Harry defended her resolutely, blocking the image of Malfoy and Hermione doing it from his mind.

"Sure. Then what is he after? You're seriously going to try and tell me that Malfoy, a devious, loathsome, healthy teenage guy is following her around practically whispering dirty things in her ear at every opportunity just for friendship?! He's probably just trying to get her into bed! And that's the best case scenario!" Ginny exploded, flinging her hands into the air, letting them land with a smack onto her bare thighs.

"Ginny…" Harry said softly, "She's our friend. If we try to tell her not to do it, she'll fuck Malfoy on Gryffindor table at breakfast just to show us we don't own her. We need to just be there for her for now, keep an eye on her so that if he tries anything we can help."

"I guess you're right, but I still don't like it," Ginny sighed, relenting. She curled up next to Harry, her curves pressing to his bare chest.

Looking down at his red haired vixen, Harry murmured lowly, "You know, just because you don't want them sleeping together, that doesn't mean we can't-"

He was interrupted by Ginny sitting up and throwing a leg over his hip, straddling him with a seductive smirk, "Well, I think that can be arranged."

. . . . .

"-All I'm saying is that girls want sex just as much as guys do, if they're going to put a charm on the girls' stairs to keep guys out, they should make it fair and do the same on the guys' stairs," Hermione argued as they entered the Room again, now modified with a bed against the far wall.

Draco followed her in, shutting the door behind them, "That's an unusual perspective. Shouldn't you be arguing for the removal of the charm?"

"No, the removal charm is really simple, I figured it out in third year. Seriously though, if people want equality of the sexes, they need to get rid of these misogynistic prejudices," Hermione replied calmly, crossing the room to settle again at the desk chair, opening her Transfiguration book with a sigh.

Watching her, Draco found himself wondering what the hell was going on. Pansy has wasted no time declaring herself his girlfriend the first time he let his guard down, but Hermione seemed content to kiss him twice and hold his hand. What did she want? Were they a couple, or just friends with benefits? Or was he mistaken and she really did kiss her friends? Her words that morning echoed again in his head, _"You kissed me and called me beautiful." _

"'Mione," he began hesitantly, not sure he wanted to know what she'd say, "What did you mean when you said I kissed you this morning?"

Hermione's head snapped up as she turned to look at him. She hadn't thought he'd need the talk; he'd always seemed to go along with whatever new situation happened, and really, she thought it was self explanatory, but…

"You half woke up and said I was beautiful, then kissed me. Then you lay back down and went to sleep. I didn't want to bring it up this morning, but the whole thing with Harry pissed me off and I decided to go for it. If I overstepped, I apologize," she said calmly, watching as he settled on the bed.

"Great," Draco said with a sigh, embarrassed. So he'd been right about his dream being a little too real. "It's me who should be apologizing; I shouldn't have kissed you, asleep or not."

Hermione opened her eyes wide and tried to look pitiful, "You mean you don't want to kiss me?"

Draco answered that by crossing to her and pulling her into a searing kiss, expecting a right hook to his face at any moment. Reaching up to link her hands around the back of his neck, Hermione mentally rejoiced. Draco was easy to work with. Complex, perhaps, but easy to manipulate when it came to kissing. Opening her mouth and slipping her tongue into his mouth, moaning at the sweet friction, she wondered at what point his head would explode. Draco simply relaxed into the contact, on cloud nine. Surely heaven was kissing Hermione Granger, her tongue in his mouth and her perky breasts pressing firmly against his chest.

Finally pulling away, Hermione asked breathlessly, "Any more questions?"

Draco considered briefly, "Are we… together?"

Hermione frowned and pulled him back to her.

After a long, heated moment, he pulled back to gasp, "I withdraw the question."

A/N: Yes, I know, cliffhanger! Sorry, but it was one a.m. and I was nodding off over my keyboard. Anyways, let me know what you think! I will send a preview of chapter twelve to anyone who reviews!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Chapter 12 up a bit early, thanks to some amazing reviewers and my fantastic beta, allisath! Enjoy!

Hermione smirked and pushed him back gently, "Now that that's settled, homework. I'm behind enough as it is. And maybe we can have a little… fun after that."

Draco groaned, but respected her wish, settling down on the carpet with his books. Tomorrow was Hogsmeade, and he sure as hell didn't want to spend it inside doing essays. Then again, inside had tantalizing possibilities… And maybe if he finished quickly… Sighing, he opened Godfried's Guide to Herbology to the section on wolfsbane and tried to concentrate.

Two hours and three essays later, Hermione shook him gently. He'd fallen asleep on his textbook. At least he isn't drooling she thought, amused, so much for having a little fun. Draco resisted all attempts to wake him, so she settled for peeling his cheek off of the page and levitating him to the bed. Slipping into a cami and pajama shorts, she settled in beside him, thinking of the difference twenty-four hours could make. They were together now and Ron didn't worry her as much. It hadn't been like her to cower and hide; while it was a natural response to what she'd been through, she vowed that she wouldn't let Ron's cruelty run her life. Who cared if he was a sadistic asshole, she would live how she wanted to and damn the consequences. She knew she'd have to start telling people, her friends and Headmistress McGonagall especially, but for right now she was content to just find her footing again. Rolling onto his stomach and throwing an arm across her, Draco mumbled something about Wrackspurts attacking Honeydukes, interrupting her train of thought. Hermione giggled and brushed his white-blonde hair out of his face fondly, snuggling down into him, more relaxed than she'd been in forever, it seemed. She wasn't sure how far she could trust Harry, but something told her that she could trust Draco.

. . . . .

The next morning it was Draco who woke to find himself sprawled across Hermione, his head pillowed on her breasts. Mm, he thought fuzzily, we should do this more often. Then he remembered the promised fun last night and sprang up, shit! I completely fell asleep! Why?!

While Draco pondered the chance of him ever having another chance, Hermione watched, thoroughly entertained. It was hard to believe that the arrogant asshole from first year had grown up to become this unsure, cautious man. He'd retained some of his snarkiness, but on the whole, she found this version much more accessible. Leaning forward, she kissed him on the cheek and ran her fingers through his hair, tugging gently and completely capturing his attention.

"Good morning," she purred into his ear, "Did you sleep well?"

A groan rumbled in Draco's chest and he answered, "Yes, I'm just disappointed that I didn't stay awake a bit longer."

Hermione laughed, a delicious, pealing sound that Draco savored, "You were working on Vector's assignment, right? That put even me to sleep, and I love Arithmancy. Besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere. We can always pick up where we left off…"

Hermione left a kiss on the corner of his mouth and got up, walking over to change her robes. She barely made it halfway across the room before a pair of arms wound around her, pulling her back against a solid chest. Looking over her shoulder, she was surprised to find Draco leaned in close, his expression intense, his normally icy eyes smoldering.

"We could pick it up now, if you like…" he murmured softly, running his fingers across her stomach.

Her legs suddenly shaky, Hermione tried to figure out how to reply. Sensing her sudden wavering, Draco pressed his advantage, brushing her silky hair aside to kiss the back of her neck and down the side. She tilted her head to allow better access, moaning in pleasure as his hands began traveling slowly up her torso. At last, at last!, his hands reached to bottom of her bra, tracing lightly at the edge, asking for permission. Groaning in frustration, Hermione grabbed his hands and put them directly onto her breasts, arching her back and grinding back into him. Draco bit back a groan as he began playing with her; the friction she was creating was slowly driving him insane. Cautiously slipping a hand under her shirt, he slid one finger into her bra before taking her moan as permission. Quickly unsnapping her bra, he pushed it aside and began playing in earnest, alternating between massaging and tweaking her nipples.

Hermione no longer cared about the Hogsmeade trip, he entire being was focused on Draco and his magnificent hands. Never before had she felt such pleasure; she'd only ever been with Ron and Victor and neither of them had been especially attentive to her needs, the shitheads. She knew she couldn't orgasm anyway; she just hoped Draco wouldn't be disappointed.

All of this flew out of her head the second he turned her around, pulled down her shirt, and his mouth latched onto her nipple. She cried out, reveling in the sensations as he swirled his tongue around her sensitive nub, arching her back and throwing a leg over his hip to press herself closer to him, silently begging for more. Draco could do nothing but comply, grinding into her in long strokes, sucking harder. Fighting the urge to press her into a wall and take her, he took her nipple between his teeth and pulled gently, knowing that it increased sensitivity.

Hermione pulled away sharply, crying out in pain. Draco, caught by surprise, let her, watching in horror as she shrank back, hurrying to cover herself up, whimpering.

Realizing he must have hurt her, he hurried over, stammering out an apology, "I'm so sorry! I didn't think- I thought- Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry Hermione!"

She held up a hand to keep him back, keeping her head ducked as she straightened her shirt, "It's okay," she said quietly, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes I did!" he protested, pissed at himself, "I shouldn't have hurt you, I should have been more careful…"

Hermione took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye, "It's not your fault; that was the… um, nipple that Ron…" she trailed off, hoping he would understand.

And like that, Draco was ready to go kill that weasel-bastard. How that fuck hole managed to ruin Hermione's life even when he wasn't around was absolutely frustrating. Reaching towards her, Draco was relieved when she sank into his arms. Torn between his desire to hug her tightly and his desire not to hurt her again, he whispered in her over and over, "It's okay, I'm so sorry, everything's okay."

Hermione ignored her throbbing breast and internally cursed Ron into a million different miserable pieces. Draco was an amazing man, and terrific with his hands, but Ron had managed to sabotage even that, albeit unintentionally. That son of a bitch was going to get it someday. Someday soon.

When she felt calmer and her nipple stopped it's complaining, she leaned back and said, "I'm sorry, I should've warned you."

Draco shook his head vigorously, "No, I should've remembered. I'm sorry, Hermione, I should've thought."

Regaining some of her confidence, Hermione smirked and remarked, "I don't think either of us was thinking much beyond 'oh Merlin' and 'please more'."

Catching her mood, Draco acted offended, "I'll have you know, I, in my brilliant intellectual wisdom, was also thinking 'fuck yes' and 'please don't stop'."

Pulling a serious face, she replied somberly, "I stand corrected then. My apologies, good sir."

Not sure whether he should push his luck, Draco said arrogantly, "Well, I suppose you could make it up to me with a kiss."

Smiling, Hermione rose onto her tiptoes and kissed him hard before pulling away and slipping into the other room, intent on changing into something other than her school robes for the trip into Hogsmeade. Quickly deciding on a lilac shirt with dark wash jeans, she came out to find Draco already changed and waiting by the door. Deciding to grab muffins and eat on the way, they were soon in Hogsmeade. After trying to reign in Draco in Zonko's and raiding Honeydukes, Hermione was ready to relax with a nice cold butterbeer at Madam Rosemerta's pub. Dragging Draco there turned out to be easy and they were soon razzing each other about who could drink theirs the fastest without falling off their chairs when Hermione heard an excited squeal from behind her.

Before she could turn around, a pair of arms was clamped around her from behind and Luna was shrieking in her ear, "Thank goodness, I was hoping you two would show up! I saw Harry earlier and he said you two made up and I'm just so happy for you two!"

"Thanks Luna," Hermione gasped around Luna's tight grip, "What are you doing in Hogsmeade anyway? I thought you worked in Diagon alley?"

"I have an apartment here," Luna answered cheerfully, finally letting go of Hermione only to latch onto a very surprised Draco, "And you Draco! You are practically glowing today! Not being a bad boy, are you?"

Hermione almost fell off her stool laughing as Draco turned every color of red in the spectrum at Luna's cheeky grin. She'd been right, Luna had changed, but in Hermione's opinion it was for the better, especially if she kept on teasing Draco. Speaking of Draco, he was still trying to sputter out a denial, but Luna was already giving Hermione a wink and thumbs up.

"Good job Hermione! This one's probably fun to ride, especially since he's not trained all the way yet, huh?"

"I will say, he is pleasant company, but if you keep this up Luna, he might run away screaming," Hermione answered with a smirk as Draco rounded the table to stand next to her, gesturing for Luna to take his chair.

Luna shook her head and smiled at the couple, "Why don't we go back to my place? I haven't had any guests over since I moved, and I need to talk to you both anyways."

At Luna's abrupt attitude change, Hermione frowned but nodded their acceptance, noting the worry line between Luna's eyebrows. Luna's place turned out to be a small, but comfortable apartment a few blocks away on a quaint street that reminded Hermione of the town she'd grown up in. Stepping inside and removing their shoes, she spotted an enormous stack of Quibblers on the coffee table and plush furniture that just begged to be sat in. Luna's decorating was as eclectic as her personality, but somehow everything seemed to belong in the room and even Draco had to admit it was a lovely apartment.

As soon as they were seated with cups of tea, Luna began, "Hermione, I know Ron did something horrible to you. His aura is menacing, and whenever he's around, yours seems to try to draw into itself and become smaller."

"You can tell from my aura that something's happened?" Hermione asked, flabbergasted, absentmindedly reaching over to grab Draco's hand for support, not noticing how stiff he'd become.

"Yes," Luna said, her eyes glassy, "I can usually tell when people argue because a sickly red surrounds them, but your aura has a spiral of flat black around your stomach. I don't know what it means exactly, but I know something happened with you and Ron. I want to help you if I can, because so far Ginny's been a brat about you and Draco and I think Harry would help too."

Draco spoke up then, "I don't know how anyone can help the situation, short of sending him to Azkaban and giving the dementors free reign on him. I'm going to protect her as much as I can, but something has to be done about him."

Hermione stared down at her lap miserably. She knew she'd have to tell people sometime, but this had been such a fun day. She'd almost forgotten about it entirely. Of course she'd have to come back to reality eventually.

Deciding to just get it over with, she blurted out, "He raped me," hating the taste of the word in her mouth.

Luna blanched and reached over to hold Hermione's free hand, noting how Draco squeezed her hand for support, "I was hoping that wasn't it. I'm so sorry Hermione."

Lifting her head, Hermione stared at the petite blonde in confusion, "You… believe me?"

Luna nodded immediately, explaining, "Your aura looks like one I've seen before, a friend's from my hometown. She was raped and the man was never found, but she told me. I got revenge for her, but I was hoping that wasn't what happened to you."

Hermione let a few tears escape with no small sense of relief. She hadn't thought anyone would believe her; not Draco, not Luna, and she was still pretty sure Harry wouldn't believe her. It was a comforting experience, knowing that someone believed her.

"I just… I don't know what to do," she admitted quietly, "I'm just beginning to feel like I can get through the day without wanting to disappear, but it's his word against mine. It's been over a week, so I have no forensic evidence, and who would believe that Mr. Playboy would have to rape me? I just… don't know where to go with this."

"There's always Veritaserum," Luna said promptly, "If you go to McGonagall and report it, you can ask that he be questioned under the influence of Veritaserum, it's legal now that he's of age. If he refuses, McGonagall will know he's guilty and can turn him over to the Ministry, Azkaban and," Luna grinned sadistically, "the dementors. Nice plan by the way," she added to Draco.

Draco nodded, and said, "She just told me the day before yesterday, I didn't want to push her by insisting that she go tell McGonagall."

"Yes," Luna nodded, "There will be an uproar, of course, but it's the best course of action."

"But everyone will look down on me!" Hermione burst out in frustration, "You know how it is when it's a rape! 'Have you had sex with him before?' 'What were you wearing when it happened?' Why the hell should that matter! I didn't ask for it! I tried to get away! Why do people have to blame the rape victims for the rape! Our world is completely fucked up!"

Draco embraced her tightly, letting her cry on his shirt as he locked eyes with Luna, asking with his eyes for any help she could give. He was over his head; he could and would give Hermione everything in his power, but she needed a girl to talk to, and he knew it. Luna nodded, understanding.

When Hermione's tears had subsided, Luna said gently, "You don't have to do this today, but it would be best to tell McGonagall as soon as possible. In the meantime, Draco and I will do our best to protect you. I'll go stay at the castle with Ginny; if I'm around her, Ron, and Harry I can keep a close eye on him. Draco won't leave your side. Will you?" she said, glaring at Draco until he nodded, "Ron won't get anywhere near you, okay? You aren't alone in this."

Hermione nodded shakily, grateful to the point of overflowing to this wonderful girl. For the first time, she felt she could handle the situation head-on. With Luna and Draco, she could do anything.

"Thank you Luna," she said quietly, "I should have come to you sooner."

"I understand," Luna said gently, "I'm just glad you could talk to me now."

As Draco and Hermione said their goodbyes and Hermione began walking down the hall to the elevator, Draco hung back for a moment.

"When you say a friend from your hometown, do you mean…?" he asked softly, wanting to be sensitive, but still needing to know.

Luna looked at him with a somber amusement that should have been oxymoronic, but worked, "I meant myself. It's not something I advertise."

"Then why didn't you tell Hermione that?" Draco asked, puzzled.

Luna sighed and shook her head, "It's something I've moved past. I don't let the past rule my life. Hermione will learn this on her own, and I didn't want to add to her burden by having her feel sorry for me when she needs to focus on herself for the moment. To an extent, our society teaches us to focus only on ourselves all the time, but Hermione has always been one of those few blessed with the sense to look beyond themselves and worry about others above herself. While she is all the more wonderful for it, in this instance, she needs to focus on healing herself before she does anything else. Make sure she does, okay? I'll be there to help by tonight."

Draco nodded and hurried down the hallway to step into the elevator just as it was closing, joining Hermione, who looked curious.

"What did she say?" She asked innocently, looping her arm through his.

Draco shook his head, "Not my story to tell. She'll tell you someday, when this mess is over."

Hermione nodded in easy acceptance, laying her head against his shoulder, "I've decided to go to McGonagall on Monday, during morning classes so that Ron will be preoccupied."

"Okay. I'll go with you," Draco replied, silently impressed by the calm way she'd said this.

"Thank you," Hermione breathed, closing her eyes, enjoying the moment while it lasted.

A/N: Voila! Chapter twelve! What does everyone think? I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this chapter, since it is a bit different than normal! As always, I will PM everyone who reviews a preview of Chapter 13 on Monday!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hello again! Sorry for the late update, things are getting crazy again with school in three weeks for me. My birthday was yesterday, so I'm spreading the cheer with a little fun in this chapter. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, or just reads this story! Big thank you to those who reviewed or PMed me with encouragement! Special thank you to allisath, my amazing beta! Without further ado, chapter thirteen!

Warnings: Lemon... If it's not your thing, just skip this chapter

The walk back to the castle was spent in a comfortable silence. Hermione seemed to be thinking about something very hard; her brow was furrowed and Draco had to stop her from running into trees in her absentmindedness. Draco understood her need to be alone with her thoughts, but her body language was confusing. He'd noticed that whenever that fuck-hole was brought up, Hermione hunched over and tried her best to be invisible, but now she was striding up the middle of the path, head held high and shoulders back. She didn't appear scared at all, and Draco was torn between relief and concern. If she felt so comfortable with him, that was a considerable step up from last year, especially under the circumstances, but there was always the chance she would become reckless or decline back into depression. He suddenly wished that Luna had come back with them.

When they reached Hogwarts it was only midafternoon and dinner was hours away. Most of the students were still in Hogsmeade, enjoying their day of freedom, which meant that Draco's anxiety was lessened by the knowledge she was less likely to run into Ron or that self righteous brat Ginny. Surprisingly, Hermione rarely needed to be pulled away from a statue or wall; she navigated the halls of Hogwarts with a calm surety that was reassuring and at the same time unnerving. Walking straight to the Room, Draco was puzzled. She'd mentioned needing to do some homework when they got back, so he'd assumed they'd head straight to the library. As she paced, Draco went ahead and let himself worry. Hermione had never been a simple person to understand, but this was beyond her normal oddness.

Following her inside the room, expecting the Room to be the same place they'd been in last night as she'd expressed her love of the décor, Draco was shocked to find a dimly lit room dominated by an enormous bed that took up almost all of the room. Barely restraining himself from gaping at the behemoth, he turned to face Hermione, who stood to the side, her face finally betraying the barest hint of uncertainty.

Managing a small smile, she beckoned him over to her, waiting until he complied before leading him over to sit on the edge of the lushly made up bed, "I wanted to ask your opinion on something, if that's okay?"

Draco swallowed audibly, internally shouting down the voice in his head that was celebrating the possibilities of the bed, "Sure, what are you thinking?" he croaked, forcing himself to concentrate. _She's just been raped_, he reminded himself, _it's a miracle she can be alone with any man, let alone me. There's no way she could want sex, not for awhile at the very least. _

Deciding to ease up a bit, Hermione asked, "Do you think I should tell Harry before I tell McGonagall? Ron is his best friend, and I don't know how he'd react if I just told him flat out like I did Luna."

He considered, grateful his train of thought had been derailed, "I don't think so. At least, if it was me, I wouldn't. I think he'd probably believe you and confront the bastard, which could complicate things if the shit head escapes. On the other hand, Harry might decide to look at all the perspectives in the interest of fairness and ask him, which leads to the same problem. I'd probably ask for Harry and Ginny to be there when he's questioned with Veritaserum just so there's no question with them what really happened or what Ron really says, but I don't think it would be good to tell either of them beforehand."

Hermione nodded, her eyes faraway again, "That's what I've been thinking. I wish I could tell Harry at least, but he has always been fair-minded. I don't want Ron forewarned that I'm going to the Headmistress; he threatened to kill me if I told. As crazy as he's been, I don't want to risk getting anyone hurt."

Nodding, Draco studied her. She was still calm, but she looked like she wanted to say something else, but was unsure whether she should.

Worried that she was still afraid, he said comfortingly, "Please don't worry, I can see you are, but between Luna and I, you'll be safe. Luna might be out there at time, but I've never seen anyone with a better binding hex."

She shook her head slowly, "I'm not worried about that, I know you two won't let him near me. Its just… there's something I've decided I want to do, before I go to McGonagall."

She looked at him then, and Draco remembered what he was sitting on with a sudden understanding. Surely not…?

Hermione watched as the emotions ran across Draco's face. First shock, then disbelief, followed by uncertainty, and finally confusion. But the wanting look in his eyes that had flared the second he'd stepped through the door never left. Through all the confusion in her life right now, one thing she was certain of was that Draco Malfoy wanted her and she him.

"What… exactly do you want to do?" Draco asked, sounding strangled, frozen.

Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, Hermione closed the distance between them with a swift surety that bellied her earlier hesitation. Bringing her lips to his, she tried to channel her desire, her fright, and yes, her love into the kiss. Pushing him gently onto his back, Hermione let her fingers trail down his chest, pleased at the obvious definition of the muscles underneath, playing with the hem teasingly. Draco kissed her back, confused as all hell, but not sure he wanted to protest, bringing his arms around her to trace the outline of her bra, finding the clasp in the back through her shirt.

Sensing his reluctance, Hermione pushed his shirt up slightly, delving underneath as she moved her lips to his neck, searching for the sensitive spot right below his ear. Licking and nipping her way, she was pleased when his hips jerked suddenly as he cried out. Making a mental note of the spot, she pushed his shirt up higher, nudging him gently to rise up so she could remove it. Leaning back, she smiled as she surveying him, shirtless, hair tousled and eyes begging her to come back. She complied by throwing a leg over his hip and straddling him, her lips returning to suckle at the place under his ear, loving how he responded instantly. Draco bit back a groan and tried futilely to still the bucking of his hips. He had the nagging feeling in the back of his head that he should stop, that he should ask her something, but the thought slipped away, slippery as an eel the moment Hermione started grinding against him. With a snarl that surprised them both, he ripped her shirt and bra down the front, leaning forward eagerly to latch onto her uninjured breast, covering it with open-mouthed kisses.

Hermione practically purred at the attention he gave her, arching her back to thrust her chest forward, raking her nails down his chest, twining one hand into his hair. Deciding to try again, Draco pulled her nipple into his mouth, gently scraping it between his teeth as he pulled back. She moaned in pleasure, her eyes fluttering closed as she gave herself over to the sensations coursing through her. So this was how he'd meant it to feel this morning! Feeling the growing hardness beneath her, she began grinding against him in long strokes, suddenly annoyed; there was far too much clothing between them. Ignoring his whimper of protest, she climbed off him, kissing him frantically as her fingers battled his belt and won. Kissing and licking a trail down his chest and stomach, she pushed down his jeans and green-silver boxers, running her fingers through the arrow of hair leading down to his enormous manhood. Taking him in her hand, Hermione was surprised by the size of him. Far bigger than Ron, she worried that it might hurt, but pushed it out of her mind as she took as much of him in her mouth as she could without warning. His hips bucked slightly, and she had to use one hand to keep him down as she began bobbing her head up and down, swirling her tongue around his hardness. He let his head fall back as he moaned, struggling not to thrust into her hot little mouth, the question all but forgotten as her ministrations quickened. He was quickly coming undone under her obviously skillful hands.

Finally, he had to reach down and stop her, panting, "You need to stop, or this will be over before it's even begun."

She pouted briefly, but he was over her in an instant, pushing her onto her back and pulling at her skirt, impatient to get it off. She let him struggle for a minute before tugging down the side zipper herself. He finally got the cursed skirt off and toyed with her for a moment, tracing the outline of her panties, enjoying her look of frustration as she squirmed, desperate for some friction.

"Draco Malfoy!" she cried, fed up, grabbing his hand and pulling down her panties simultaneously.

Draco had to smirk a bit as he helped her remove them all the way, pleased that he'd managed to work her up so much. Bringing his mouth back to her nipple, he stroked her softly, teasing her still more before plunging his finger into her suddenly, loving how she cried out. He used his finger to thrust into her and nipped at her breast, ignoring the ache in his groin that begged to replace his fingers. Adding another finger, he used his thumb to stimulate her clit, noticing how she'd tightened around him. He could tell she was close, so he added a third finger, thrusting several times before curling his fingers and sucking her clit into his mouth.

Hermione arched off the bed with a scream as wave after wave of pleasure hit her. Stars and fireworks burst behind her eyes and for a moment, she couldn't remember her own name. Collapsing back onto the bed panting, she wondered what the hell had happened. That had never happened before, but then again, she'd never had a man go down on her either. Draco pulled himself up to kiss her, and she tasted herself on his lips, oddly turned on by that.

"So you can't have orgasms?" Draco asked with a knowing smirk, "Because, I could swear that's what you said, but judging from your expression, that was one hell of an orgasm."

She blushed and ducked her head, embarrassed, before he gently pulled her head up for another kiss, allowing his hips to roll against her, asking permission. She nodded, and he got up to retrieve his wand from his pants pocket, returning quickly.

Pausing as he finally remembered the question, Draco asked quietly, "Hermione… not that I don't want to, but… why are you doing this?"

Tilting her head, surprised at the sudden change in his demeanor, Hermione answered, "I want to give myself completely to you. Before everything hits the fan and our lives are turned upside down when everything comes out, I want you to know that I trust you completely."

"I know you do," Draco murmured, stroking the side of her face softly, "You don't have to do this to prove it to me."

"I know, but I want to. And," she said, so softly he wasn't sure he heard her right, "I love you."

Draco stared for a moment, shocked. Hell had apparently frozen over; Hermione Granger had told him she loved him. Happiness flooded him, filling him with a joy he couldn't contain.

Hugging her tightly, he said, "I love you too Hermione. Gods, I love you!"

Giggling, Hermione pulled him around to kiss her, laying back slowly as he cast a contraceptive charm before positioning himself between her legs.

Noticing how she'd tensed up beneath him, he murmured in her ear, "It's okay, I won't hurt you, I promise."

She bit her lip, and nodded slightly, telling him to go ahead. He pushed forward carefully, slowly so as not to hurt her. Her head fell back with a breathy moan at the sensation of him filling her. Unable to stand the slowness, she planted her feet on the bed and pushed her hips up quickly, sheathing him completely within her. Draco groaned at the suddenness but understood what she wanted. Pausing to let her adjust to his size, it seemed like an eternity before she nodded for him to continue. He started thrusting into her slowly, letting her adjust further until she growled softly and pushed her hips up to meet his, demanding he set a faster pace. Eager to comply, he snapped his hips forward, again and again as hard as he could, and she rewarded him by crying out his name, arching her back in a haze of pleasure. She could feel every inch of him within her and he every inch of her. As the sounds of their moans and the rough sounds of skin meeting quickened and became louder, the pleasure sharpened within her, building with each powerful thrust. Her leg lifted as she begged for something, she didn't know what, only that if he didn't do it she'd explode. Sensing her need, he pulled back and pushed her knees over his shoulders before plunging back into her. The new position caused him to go deeper into her and she cried out, her breath coming in short bursts as her nails sunk into his back. Everything seemed to blur together as the sound of skin coming together became one constant noise amid their moans, cries and pleas, filling the room with sounds of their pleasure. He didn't think he could hold out much longer, redoubling his pace in an effort to give her her orgasm before his and she tightened around him, feeling herself on the edge but for once not being afraid to fall. And with one final thrust of his hips, fall she did, screaming out her orgasm as her walls clamped down on him, forcing him to cum with a yell.

Hermione lay beneath him, gasping for air as she slowly came back to herself, off the high he had given her, not minding that he seemed to have collapsed onto her. Watching his back heave as he fought for breath, she realized that throughout the entire experience, she hadn't once thought of Ron. When she'd first had the idea, she'd been terrified that the whole experience with Draco would be a string of horrifying flashbacks, but as she ran her fingers softly through his hair, she knew that Ron didn't have any hold on her anymore. Not in bed, not in school, not at all. She may be afraid sometimes, but he hadn't ruined her as she'd worried he might have done. Smiling, she curled forward to kiss Draco's forehead, waiting.

After a minute, Draco pulled himself off of her, still shaky. Turning to face her, he panted, "Sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for," Hermione said, curling into his side contentedly.

"Shouldn't have gone so hard. And I fell on you after," Draco replied with a groan, wrapping an arm around her.

"Believe me, I didn't mind. Or did you miss the screaming?" she teased, tracing patterns on his chest lightly.

He chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss, chaste at first, but quickly turning heated when Hermione threw her leg over her hip. Draco was willing, but…

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," he said, pulling back slightly, "We can go for another round when I get my strength back. Probably in a month."

Hermione pouted, "Really? A month? What happened to the Slytherin sex god with all the dirty stories? I'd really like to hear them. But I might need to be shown some of the finer details…" she trailed off, kissing the sensitive spot beneath his ear.

Draco groaned, pulling her to him and rolling over. Leaning down to kiss his way down her neck, "Did I say a month? I meant a minute. Definitely a minute."

A/N: There we go, I finally earned my 'M' rating! This is my first lemon, so please criticize so that I can get better! Please review, I promise previews on Friday for those who do, and they absolutely make my day!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Yay, it's finally done! Updates will be somewhat erratic for the next few weeks, since I am moving into the college dorms in a bit and then starting classes, but I can promise another chapter up by next Saturday! Thank you to all followers, favorites, and readers, as well as a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed! Also, I request a round of applause for my beta, allisath! *Cues sound effects guy for applause* Thanks go out to emobunnygurl who gave me the idea for the inferi with flamethrowers… I couldn't figure out how to throw the bus in there as well, much to my disappointment. Anyhow, enjoy!

It was nearly three hours later when Hermione woke with a start, unsure what had woken her. Sitting up and covering her naked form with a sheet, she surveyed the darkened room carefully, fully alert. Draco slept on next to her, oblivious to her wariness.

Seeing nothing out of place, Hermione slipped out of bed and went over to the window, noting the sun setting over the low mountains. Looking down at the desk, she found an origami butterfly perched on her Ancient Runes book. Smiling at the delicate design, she scooped it up gently, hating to undo someone's careful work.

_Hermione and Draco,_

_I'm headed up to the castle now; I should be there in time for dinner at eight. I happened to run into Harry and the scuzball and found out that they will be eating at the Three Broomsticks tonight. Join me for dinner if you two can bring yourselves to get out of bed!_

_ Luna_

Shaking her head in amusement, she turned to the bed to find Draco still laid out on his stomach, but eyes wide open, watching her.

"Sorry," she apologized, going over to sit on the bed, "I didn't mean to wake you yet."

Draco stared for a moment before saying, "Don't apologize, I have the single best view in the universe right now."

Hermione giggled as Draco surprised her by leaning forward and pulling her back onto the bed with him, covering her with kisses. Squirming out of his hold, she managed to pin his arms down while straddling him.

"That's enough of that for now," she reprimanded him sternly, "We have to meet Luna at dinner in a few minutes and I'd like to be presentable, if that's quite alright with you."

He grinned up at her with a devilish twinkle in his eye, "Dinner, eh? Then there should be no problem; you're easily the most delectable thing in this castle."

Laughing, she bent to kiss his forehead before leaping off the bed, summoning her school robes as she went. Dressing quickly, they managed to make it to the Great Hall amidst a flurry of kisses and playful pats. Students who had only glanced at them before now stopped in their tracks in the middle of the halls to stare, open-mouthed as the happy couple passed by. Hermione had always known that gossip traveled incredibly fast in Hogwarts, but when they stepped into the Great Hall to find everyone waiting for them, it was beyond unnerving. She had to admit though, she was happy to ignore the catcalls and boos if it meant she and Draco could be together; he made her happy and they could all go screw themselves if they had a problem with it.

Finding Luna at the end of the table waiting, they greeted her warmly and dug into the spaghetti and breadsticks. Luna started talking about babbling humdingers and to her surprise, Hermione found that she liked debating the authenticity of such animals with Luna. Luna didn't seem to mind her gentle prodding and responded with a sense of humor and quick wit that almost matched Hermione's own. Draco watched the girls' friendly quarrel with bemusement, tracing circles on Hermione's knee under the table. She only stopped him when the circles began traveling too far up her leg, grabbing his hand with hers, not pausing in her conversation, though her blush gave her away. She was still overjoyed from earlier and while she liked the sensations he brought about, she didn't want Luna to tease him again; the poor boy had had enough for one day.

It was a quiet and peaceful meal with one exception; Ginny had stopped by to say hello and glared at Draco, but thankfully held her tongue. Knowing how outspoken Ginny was, Hermione could only surmise that Harry had talked to her and asked her to back off a bit. She had asked Hermione if she'd seen the new lilac robes in the clothing boutique window, so she supposed she wasn't entirely unforgiven. They left a little while later, sated and content. Luna arranged to meet them for breakfast the next morning, wishing them goodnight with a saucy wink that caused Hermione to blush scarlet. Overall, walking back to the Room, she had to admit that this had been a wonderful day. Difficult yes, but wonderful all the same. The day after tomorrow, she would go to McGonagall and this whole mess with Ron would be over. Later in bed, her head pillowed on Draco's chest, she thought of how it would be after Monday: Ron in Azkaban, Draco and her overcoming the prejudice of others and being together, Luna and Neville renewing their friendships. Probably Harry and Ginny too, she hoped sleepily, falling asleep with a peaceful smile.

In Gryffindor tower, Harry found his Invisibility cloak was missing. _Odd_ he thought _I could have sworn I left it here_. Then Ginny came up from behind and wrapped her arms around him. The lost cloak was quickly forgotten.

. . . . . .

The next morning saw Luna up bright and early. She didn't know why she was so agitated; the very air seemed to crackle with electricity. Hurrying to dress quietly so as to not wake Ginny, she tried to tamp down a growing sense of alarm. Though unfounded, she couldn't seem to shake the thought that something was terribly wrong. Deciding that she should go down to breakfast early, she traveled through the strangely empty corridors with a growing sense of dread. It wasn't until she reached the Great Hall that she saw the reason for the empty halls so near to breakfast.

The long tables had been shoved aside by some sort of scuffle; books and papers were strewn across the floor. A great crowd had formed a ring around something, blocking her view. Pushing her way through the buzzing crowd, Luna saw Harry and Ron in the middle, both disheveled and panting as though they'd been fighting. Ron was obviously angry, and Luna recoiled for a moment, startled. His face flushed and eyes wild, he looked terrifying. Despite Hermione's revelation the day before, she was shocked to see such a demented expression on her old friend's face.

"What do you mean, they're dating?! Hermione wouldn't be stupid enough to sleep with that limp-dick!" Ron shouted at Harry, brandishing his wand wildly.

"It doesn't matter who she's dating!" Harry shouted back, his expression displaying the shock everyone must be feeling, wand lowered but ready to be used in a heartbeat, "She's our _friend_, in case you've forgotten! Friends stick up for each other, not condemn them for their choice of partners!"

Ron let out an enraged bellow and shot a red hex towards Harry, who blocked it with a flick of his wand, "_FRIENDS? _Do you honestly think I can be _friends _with that filthy whore?!"

Harry's brow furrowed in anger and he yelled back, "If you'd get your head out of your ass for a minute, you'd realize that Hermione isn't a whore! She hasn't been with anyone since you, it's not like she sleeps around! And besides, you two are broken up, it doesn't matter if or who she decides to sleep with!"

Letting out an incoherent yell, Ron rushed towards Harry, forgoing wands completely as he launched himself onto the shorter boy. Through the flurry of fists and hurled insults, Luna wished desperately for a teacher. More than that, she needed to find Hermione. Ron had evidently heard the news that Hermione and Draco were openly dating, and if this scene was any indication, Hermione was in danger. She needed to warn Hermione and Draco.

Turning to run and find them, she found her path blocked by a literal flood of teachers pushing aside the students to break up the fight. As Hagrid bodily pulled them apart, McGonagall began to yell, her voice echoing shrilly off the walls.

"Brawling like common thugs! In the middle of the Great Hall, no less! I have never seen a more revolting sight in my entire life! Have you both _any_ sense of decency? Of pride? Because I can assure you both that after I am through with you, you will never dare to even _think_ of committing such an atrocity again!"

Hagrid marching ahead of her, McGonagall strode out of the Hall, chastising the boys all the way. Torn between waiting for the couple and running to find them, Luna let herself be swept up in the crowd, straightening the tables and vanishing spoiled food. Luna was officially worried for Hermione's safety. Ron's aura had been dark and the roiling shapes within it spoke of terrible things to come.

Just as she'd decided it was better not to wait, Hermione appeared at her elbow, smiling confusedly as she cast a spell that cleaned up the entire floor.

"Luna? What happened? Did we miss the food fight or something?" she asked, amused, leaning back into Draco, who had an arm around her waist.

Luna shook her head, her normally peaceful expression troubled and a bit panicked, "I didn't see everything, but when I got here Harry and Ron were fighting. Ron shouted something about you being a whore and Harry was arguing that you could date whomever you wanted. Ron was…" she trailed off, not able to find the words to convey just how terrifying he'd been.

Reading Luna's frightened expression, Hermione's good mood evaporated. He'd shown his true self, she realized with a start. In front of the whole school, he'd let himself go for a bit. He'd always been so controlled before, how angry he must be to let himself slip like that… Hermione shuddered, shrinking back against Draco even as he became immediately alert, tightening his grip around her as he shifted into bodyguard mode, scanning the room.

"It'll be fine Hermione, I swear I won't let him near you," he reassured her quietly, leading them over to a table to grab some breakfast, "He can't come after you right away, even if he wanted to; he has to deal with McGonagall first. Just eat a little bit, okay? Then we'll leave."

Nodding nervously, Hermione nibbled on a piece of toast, trying to steady herself. It was just Ron; he'd never been a match for her at spells. She'd known that this would happen sooner or later, she cold handle whatever he threw at her. Draco and Luna would help her.

Luna cleared her throat nervously; "I think you should go to McGonagall today, Hermione. I know you said you wanted to do it Monday, but given the circumstances, I think it would be safer to do it today."

Hermione just nodded, feeling like there was an iron band being tightened around her chest. _This must be what a panic attack feels like_ she thought with an odd sense of detachment as her she began to gasp for breath. There was no way he'd let her tell; he'd kill her if he could, kill her and Luna and Draco, oh Gods what he'd do to her-

She was brought out of her train wreck of thought by a sharp smack across the face. Stunned, she looked up at Luna's determined expression, and the strength she saw in those eyes reassured her for a moment.

"Hermione Granger, you listen to me right now. Draco and I are not going to let him anywhere near you and if he does come near you I swear to Merlin I will set inferi with flamethrowers after him, then crucio him to death! Now stop worrying and eat your toast. We'll go to McGonagall after breakfast and this whole shit storm will be over, alright?"

Blinking up at Luna in surprise, Hermione said meekly, "Yes ma'am," digging into her toast with renewed vigor.

As they all settled down, albeit somewhat warily to their breakfast, a sleek tawny owl swooped down from the rafters to land on Draco's bacon. Accepting the letter as the bird promptly attacked the bacon, Draco's face turned from suspicion to confusion as he read.

"It's from Slughorn," he announced haltingly, turning over the implications in his mind, "He wants to see me in his office immediately. Apparently, he needs to discuss my behavior in class the other day."

Hermione frowned and ventured, "Maybe Headmistress McGonagall didn't explain to him that you didn't bully me in class that time. With the holidays approaching, she's been rather busy."

Luna nodded happily, hiding the anxiety that had shot through her at the sight of the owl, "I'm sure that's it. Why don't you go on ahead and go explain Draco, and Hermione and I will wait for you in the library? That way we can go see McGonagall together."

"I'd appreciate that," Hermione said softly, squeezing Draco's hand under the table, "I think I'll need the moral support. And Luna won't let anything happen to me."

"Of course not," Luna said cheerfully, "I read about a nice testicle-removal spell last night I've been dying to try out anyway, if a suitable test subject presents himself."

Draco agreed reluctantly, slowly gathering up his bag and putting on a smile for Hermione's benefit. Knowing Slughorn it was probably nothing anyway and the last thing he wanted to do was worry her unnecessarily.

Leaning down to kiss her softly, he whispered, "Do me a favor and make sure Luna doesn't use that removal spell on me when I get back. That glint in her eye is rather worrying."

Hermione giggled and whispered back, "Don't worry, I'll rein her in."

With one last smile at Luna, Draco left, leaving an anxious Hermione staring after him. Something didn't feel right about this. Following Luna out of the Hall, she finished off her toast with a small smile. The tiny blonde was chattering on about her invention she was currently working on for her oddities shop.

"I'm going to call it a mind projector. Like a muggle projector, but you attach this clip thingy to your finger and your thoughts will be projected from the machine!" Luna gushed, striding excitedly through the halls, gesturing enthusiastically with her hands as she explained, passing through the hallway only a few feet from the library. Turning to face Hermione, she continued on happily, "This will make explaining ideas so much eas-" only to stop in her tracks as she realized she was talking to an empty hall. Hermione was nowhere in sight.

A/N: Cliff hanger! Yes, I know I'm evil, sorry! Things will get a lot more… interesting in the next chapter. Anyways, please review! I will send a preview of chapter 15 on Monday to everyone who reviews and the reviews help me write better! They also encourage me to write faster… ;)


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: All right guys, my longest chapter ever! Thank you for all the reviews and follows! BIG thank you to allisath, my beta! I'm really curious to see how everyone reacts to this chapter, so without further ado, chapter fifteen!

The sound of water dripping was incredibly annoying, thought Hermione woozily as she mumbled under her breath, wishing to go back to sleep. Perhaps the Room of Requirement had a leak or something… She would have to look at it after she went to McGonagall- Hermione shot straight up at the memory, or at least she tried to sit up. She found herself suspended in midair about four feet from the cold stone floor. Twisting, she realized her hands and feet were held in place as securely as if they were encased in concrete. She was trapped.

_Ron! He must have snatched me when Luna and I headed to the library!_ She realized, suddenly terrified. She couldn't move her hand to reach her wand, even if he'd been stupid enough to let her keep it, and no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free. Intellectually, she knew all this, but she couldn't seem to stop thrashing, desperate to get away. If Ron came back, he'd been pissed enough earlier that there was no telling what he would do.

Suddenly afraid that he would jump out from somewhere, Hermione studied her surroundings. The snake statues flanking the giant figure of Salazar Slytherin gave her location away almost immediately; she was in the Chamber of Secrets. It was one of the only places in Hogwarts that wasn't shown on the Marauder's Map, she realized with growing horror. If they thought to look here at all, it might be too late. A muffled groan came from behind her, startling her badly. She let out a small shriek, unable to stop herself. Was there someone else here? Craning her neck and contorting into an extremely uncomfortable position, she managed to see who it was out of the corner of her eye.

Ron Weasley lay sprawled across the floor, a bright red slash across his forehead oozing crimson blood into his flaming hair. His eyes closed and mouth open, he wasn't just sleeping, but unconscious, though Hermione had no idea whether it was because of a spell or just being hit. She gaped at the prone figure; Ron was the only person who hated her enough to kidnap her, how could he be here, unconscious and wounded, if he had been the one to abduct her? Hermione wracked her brain for an explanation, but nothing explained his cruel behavior coupled with his sudden appearance as an apparent captive alongside her. Perhaps he was faking? He could spring up and attack her the second she looked away. Or was he a big enough imbecile that he'd ran into one of the statues and knocked himself out? She wasn't sure, but while she was immobilized, there was nothing she could do.

She let her head drop back limply and her eyes close, whimpering at the already uncomfortable soreness in her neck, allowing tears to run up into her hair. This was insane. Ron, the unbearable, sadistic asshole, was here, but a victim? It made no sense. She had no escape plan and if by some miracle he had knocked himself out she was sure he would take out his anger on her. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she hoped desperately that Draco and Luna would find her.

. . . . . .

In Slughorn's office, Draco was finding it hard to listen to the normally placid teacher's rant. His mind kept drifting to the expression on Hermione's face just ten minutes earlier. The toffee brown eyes full of fear, the line between her eyes that had betrayed her anxiety, her face paler than normal. Still beautiful, but he couldn't sit still. It was stupid to sit here and be berated for something so long ago when she needed his help.

"-Always encouraged the right to free speech and inter-house cooperation, but when you send a student out of the class in tears over a comment, you have gone too far!" Slughorn said, pacing agitatedly in front of his desk, finally appearing to wind down, "Miss Granger is an exemplary student and her behavior has never been an issue before. Therefore, it is only fitting that you receive a detention for your comments, whatever they were."

" But professor," Draco cut in, hoping to end the meeting as soon as possible, "Hermione spoke to Headmistress McGonagall about this some time ago. She excused it and chose not to punish me. If you just speak to her, I'm sure-"

"No matter, no matter!" Slughorn said, raising his voice over Draco's and waving a hand impatiently to dismiss the comment, the words coming out stilted, "You still said something inappropriate, of that there is no doubt."

Frowning, Draco turned to focus on the short professor fully for the first time since coming in. Slughorn was sweating lightly, his right hand clenching every few seconds. As he watched, Slughorn's quick pace was interrupted by a spasm of his right leg, causing him to stumble against the desk, fist still clenching and unclenching. The man looked seriously ill.

"Professor," Draco said slowly, alarmed, "the Headmistress herself said that I was not to be punished. With the holidays coming she's been rather busy, so I expect she hasn't had time to send you word-"

In a single instant, Slughorn swung around to face Draco, causing several items to fall from his desk, "You will not weasel your way out of this, you stinking ferret!" Slughorn yelled, his expression wild, "You will not get away with this!"

Staring into the almost unrecognizable man's eyes, Draco's heart lurched. While Slughorn's face was contorted into a feral expression of hatred, his eyes held no expression. He had seen this sort of controlled vacantness before: in the eyes of wizards and witches under the Imperius Curse.

Yanking his wand from the sleeve of his robe, Draco shouted "Stupefy!" watching Slughorn fly into the back wall with a sense of detachment. His mind was seconds ahead of his body, already racing a panicked course towards the library and Hermione. Pausing only to barricade Slughorn's classroom door with containment spells, he hurtled through the halls past sniggering classmates without really seeing any of them. He could grasp only two things, which pulsed through him with every too-slow step: someone had bewitched Slughorn and he had to get to Hermione, to protect her with everything in him.

Rounding a corner, blind with terror, Draco slammed into a small form he hadn't seen, yanking him out of his internal world. He would have picked himself up and continued to sprint towards the library had the person not grabbed his arm and said in a voice that gave sound to his worst fears, "Draco! Oh God, Hermione, she- we were going to the library and I turned around, and- oh God, she-"

Luna broke off with a choked sob, her eyes wide and terrified. Draco sat there for a moment, feeling like the world had suddenly dropped out from under him. Grabbing Luna's shoulders numbly, he looked at her sternly, "Luna, tell me what happened. I need to know."

"She'd just disappeared," Luna whispered, ducking her head slightly, "I didn't hear anything; no struggle, no footsteps, nothing. I turned away for a second and when I looked back, she was gone."

Draco closed his eyes, trying to focus. He needed to know what to do, where to look. Speaking with difficulty, he said, "Slughorn's been Imperiused; Ron must have wanted me out of the way. He must have planned to separate you two and snatch Hermione at the first chance. But where would he take her? And how do we find her?"

"It won't be somewhere obvious," Luna said, regaining her composure, her fire returning to her eyes, "Anywhere populated is out. Maybe in one of the empty classrooms?"

Nodding silently, Draco stood up and helped Luna to her feet. Without a word, they began checking all of the classrooms, used or not. Because of the weekend, they were all deserted, compounding the problem immensely. After fifteen minutes and nearly thirty classrooms, Draco lost it.

"This isn't working!" he yelled, slamming a fist against an unused blackboard in frustration, "We haven't even made it through half of the first floor and he could have done anything, _anything_, to her by now!" Draco closed his eyes, feeling his heart shredded a little more at the image of Hermione writhing in agony at the hands of Ron, screaming for him to help her. "We need to do this faster," he whispered hoarsely.

Luna frowned in concentration, then swore suddenly, "Shit toads! I'm so stupid!" Running from the classroom before the last word left her mouth, she left Draco no choice but to follow her as she explained, "We need to find Harry; he has this map of Hogwarts that shows everyone in it. If we can get him to let us borrow it, we can find Hermione within minutes!"

Beyond surprise at this point, Draco simply nodded and ran faster, eager to get to Gryffindor tower. Not bothering to stop, Luna whipped out her wand and muttered something to it before saying loudly, "Expecto patronum!" A silvery hare shot from her wand and ran ahead of them briefly before disappearing from their sight, traveling much faster than either one of them could. Draco just looked at Luna, waiting for an explanation. "Harry taught the D.A. how to communicate with Patronuses," Luna explained, panting, "It was much faster than the Galleons we normally used, but more noticeable."

"Luna, I know you think you're making sense," Draco gasped as the took the steps two at a time, "But you're really not."

"Dumbledore's Army in fifth year, remember? We used the serial numbers on enchanted Galleons to communicate dates of meetings. I still have mine, actually. Most of us do; if there's ever an emergency we can still get in touch quickly. Hermione always said to keep it on us just in case-" Luna skidded to a stop abruptly, causing Draco to nearly faceplant on the stairs to stop with her. Rummaging through her pockets franticly, she pulled out one small gold Galleon triumphantly, "She'll have hers, if Ron hasn't taken it. It's a long shot, but maybe…"

Luna pulled out her wand and muttered a short spell. Draco watched as the numbers on the edge of the coin changed to _Hermione in danger. H, pls tell where you are if possible._ Cupping the coin in her small hand, Luna stared at it intently, waiting for anything to change.

In the Chamber, Hermione cried out in shock as something in her pocket burned white-hot.

As the minutes ticked by with no change, Draco felt the small flame of hope he'd held onto diminish a little more. Not looking at Luna's face, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along. Potter was their next best hope. They'd just climbed the last set of stairs to the Gryffindor common room entrance when a stag Patronus burst from the wall and stopped before them. Harry's voice came from it, four simple words: "Sour marmalade. Common Room."

This nonsense seemed to make sense to Luna, who immediately turned to the Fat Lady and said primly, "Sour marmalade."

Ignoring the Lady's suspicious gaze, they climbed through the portrait hole quickly, their sense of urgency restored. Dodging around a group of chattering first years, they found Harry seating in front of the fire with Neville next to him. Harry was bleeding from a gash on his cheek and his robes were torn from the fight.

Looking up as they sat on the couch next to him, Harry said, "We saw the Galleon message too. Mind explaining what's going on first?"

Draco clenched his fists in annoyance. Hermione was in danger and all Potter wanted to do was sit and _talk? _"We'd love to have a nice long chat with tea and crumpets with you, but there's the slight issue that Hermione needs our help like half an hour ago!" He spat, glad Luna had sat in between him and Potter.

Luna, always the one to stay calm, said sternly, "Draco. Harry, I know you need an explanation, but we really need to find Hermione as soon as possible. Could we search the map as we explain?"

Turning away from glaring at Malfoy, Harry looked at Luna in surprise, "It's that bad?" he asked with unease.

At Luna's nod, Harry silently pulled the Marauders' Map from his pocket, spreading it out on the low table in front of them. Mumbling, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," under his breath, he began scanning the far left section of the map and said louder "Start explaining. Does this have anything to do with Ron going bat-shit crazy this morning?"

"It has everything to do with that asshole," Draco said, kneeling on the floor to get a better look, "That fuck-wad raped her over a week ago."

Harry's head snapped up so fast, Luna worried about possible whiplash. "What do you mean, Ron raped Hermione?" he asked, looking stunned.

"I mean, I found Hermione in the Room of Requirement with her wrists slit and saved her. When she finally felt okay enough to tell me why, she said that Ron raped and threatened to kill her. There was even one day when he assaulted her in the library while I wasn't there. She was going to turn him in to McGonagall tomorrow while he was in class." Draco explained, his eyes never leaving the parchment.

Turning to Luna, Harry asked, his voice begging her to tell him Malfoy was lying, "Is this true?"

Nodding, Luna traced the passageways on the third floor, scanning intently, "She told me yesterday; I came to the castle to help Draco keep an eye on Ron and make sure he didn't hurt Hermione."

"But," Harry sputtered, his face betraying his confusion and growing sense of horror, "Why didn't she tell me? Or Ginny?"

"Or me?" Neville piped up, his pale features frozen into a mask of guilt.

"Because Ron is your best friend and Ginny's brother, as well as your friend," Draco said shortly, impatient. They needed to find her now and for all the little names on the map, none were the one he sought, "She didn't think anyone would believe her, after you all abandoned her and everything."

Neville looked ashamed, Harry simply stunned. "Oh Gods," he breathed, "I knew something was up with them, but I figured they just had a bad break up, with Ron sleeping around and all… If I'd known…"

"The point is that you know now," Luna interrupted, frowning at the map as she went over the seventh floor a third time, "With Ron so pissed this morning, we were going to go to McGonagall this morning, to be safe. But Draco got an owl saying that Slughorn wanted to see him."

"When I got there, Slughorn had been Imperiused and by the time I got to Luna, Hermione had vanished," Draco finished, struggling to be patient. He was ready to rip the map into confetti; he'd searched his whole area several times over, to no avail. He turned to Luna and Harry hopefully, "Anything?"

Luna was beginning to look truly frightened, "She's not on here," she whispered, turning to Harry, "The secret passageways have all been sealed up, right?"

"Yes," Harry answered, the shock beginning to be replaced with determination and a burning anger, "Even the one to Abeforth's. He still has to be in the school though; both Ron and I have a spell on us preventing us from leaving the castle. McGonagall got an urgent owl before she could punish us. She said she had to reply right away, but she didn't want us leaving."

Draco growled in frustration, "If he's here, then why isn't either of them showing up on the map!"

"What about the Room of Requirement?" Neville said suddenly, his brow furrowed, "It never shows up on the map, does it?"

"You're right… the Chamber of Secrets never did either!" Harry exclaimed, looking only marginally relieved, "They have to be in one of them."

"Fine," Draco replied, not relieved for a moment. He'd seen the look of terror on Hermione's face whenever she'd spoke of him. He wouldn't let himself relax until he had her in his arms again. "Neville, Luna, look in the Room of Requirement. Harry, go alert McGonagall. I'll check the Chamber of Secrets. If anyone finds her, send a Patronus to the others. If you find Ron, send the Patronus, then beat the living shit out of that son of a bitch."

Looking at the expression of absolute hatred on Malfoy's face, Harry decided he really didn't need to protest his assignment. Neville and Luna simply nodded, too worried about Hermione to worry about such frivolous things as school rivalries. Scooping up the map and shoving it into his pocket, Harry took off without a word, closely followed by the rest.

As soon as he cleared the portrait hole, Draco took off at a sprint. He had to find Hermione; whatever Ron was planning had to be horrendous and painful, if not outright murder. The thought of Hermione dead on a floor somewhere in a pool of her own blood propelled him forward even faster, the muscles in his legs already screaming obscenities at him. What if he didn't find her in time? What if he was already too late? Draco kept running even as he thought to himself _whatever happens to her is my fault. I promised her several times that I wouldn't let him hurt her again, and look what's happened. This is my fault._

. . . . . .

Down in the Chamber, Hermione had calmed down somewhat. Keeping tabs on Ron's inert figure behind her, she tried to figure out an escape plan. As far as she could tell, the spell holding her captive could not be broken, at least not with wand-less magic. She knew her magic was still working; she'd sent several balls of light along the Chamber, searching for anyone else with them, but she still couldn't move an inch. Remembering the searing heat from her pocket, Hermione realized what it was and internally thanked the gods that it hadn't been taken from her. It was her Dumbledore's Army Galleon! Someone must have sent a message out, and that knowledge alone could save her life. If she could just levitate it out of her pocket without dropping it, she could send the others a message letting them know where she was. Frowning, she concentrated and after a minute felt a tiny object wiggling its way up her pocket. Just a bit further…

"Hello, pet. Miss me?"

Hermione's concentration was ruined as the cold, accented voice reached her ears and almost stopped her heart. He was here. Contorting herself again, she found Ron still unconscious behind her, and frowned in confusion. If it wasn't Ron who'd spoken, then..? Bringing her head up stiffly, she found herself face to face with the last person she'd expected to see. Victor Krum.

Victor leered down at her gleefully, his normally expressionless face transformed into a mask of insanity, "Yes, I thought you'd enjoy the dramatic reveal at last. It must have been killing you wondering why your little boyfriend over there was behaving so rudely."

Finally finding her voice, Hermione managed, "Victor? But how, why? What the hell did you do?"

Nearly cackling in his amusement, Victor reached out to place his hands on her ankles, caressing them in a perverse parody of a lover's touch, "Oh, such the innocent little girl aren't we? Don't you remember four years ago? Our little yearlong tryst? How we spent every evening in the library because you weren't ready for anything more? How I told you I would wait for you, and you promised to write? Did you even read those letters I sent you, or just throw them in the fireplace unread? Did you forget how many times I promised to love you or just not care because this little ginger menace was finally showing some interest in you?"

Hermione blanched, realizing the direction this was going. She had promised to write, but in truth she'd been more than just a little wary of Krum's infatuation with her. When they'd first started dating, he'd seemed nice enough. A little dim, perhaps, but sweet. By the end of the second month he'd been professing his undying love for her and promising to wait for her to be ready before making love to her. Only fourteen, Hermione had been wary of breaking it off directly, because his obvious obsession with her was startling. Who knew what he might do if she'd interrupted his umpteenth soliloquy about her stunning beauty to say that she wanted to just be friends? The end of the year had brought no small amount of relief; now she could just throw the letters away without having to gag back vomit every evening. When she began to feel sorry for him, she'd opened one letter to read. The incoherent, babbling, desperate mess it contained had only strengthened her resolve to not have anything to do with him ever again. After six months the letters stopped coming and she'd been relieved that he'd finally accepted that she wasn't interested anymore. Apparently she'd been wrong.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," she began nervously, hoping she could somehow talk him down.

He just threw back his head and laughed, a chilling, sinister sound that froze her in place, "Didn't mean to hurt me! Very good joke! I know you were trying to forget I ever existed! And I know why, too!" turning on his heel to point at Ron with a flourish, Victor proclaimed, "This little boy has been the one you love for years! But he never gave you the time of day, so you tried to make him jealous by dating me! Oh, and it worked perfectly, didn't it? When I returned to England two years ago in the hopes of finding you again, what did I see but posters everywhere of you and this ginger haired freak," he marched over to give Ron a vicious kick, "saying you were Undesirables second only to Harry Potter! I knew you had gone off somewhere together, still laughing at me, the poor simpleton Victor Krum!"

"No! I never told either of them anything that happened between us!" Hermione interrupted, her fear rising at the possessed look on Krum's face.

Krum swung around to face her again, his eyes blazing, "Nothing ever happened between us! Despite my love for you, you insisted on remaining pure and chaste because you simply weren't ready! And did I complain? No! I thought 'oh, what a nice, sweet girl!' Until you ran off! Now where was I, before you so rudely interrupted? Oh yes! I knew that I wouldn't be able to find you before the end of the war, so I bided my time and came up with a plan, and what a brilliant plan it was. When the War ended, I followed your little trio and just as I'd predicted, you were enthralled with the miserable oaf. I knew that the one way I'd be able to hurt you the most would be to have this idiot screw up and hurt you himself. But, alas, he isn't a very good subject for the Imperious Curse. He was so opposed to hurting you that the most I could make him do was purchase women's underwear and hide them around his room. I tried to get him to actually sleep with some groupies, but that was an unmitigated disaster."

Here he paused in his rant, looking at one of the snake statues with a faraway expression. Hermione was shocked at his revelations. Ron actually hadn't slept with anyone else? That alone sent her for a spin, but she didn't dwell on it for long. Krum had obviously gone insane; she needed to get out to there _now_. Focusing on the coin again, she found it moved much more willingly this time. _Nothing like a little mortal peril to strengthen your concentration,_ she though in a sudden burst of dry humor.

She had almost succeeded in getting it all the way out of her pocket when Krum spoke again, his voice eerily soft as he continued to study the statue. "After a week I realized how useless the boy truly was. He was beginning to think about telling you about his little bouts of amnesia, and I couldn't have that. You were always brilliant; I knew you would figure out what was going on in a heartbeat. So I procured some Polyjuice potion and abducted him from the couch you'd exiled him to. The next morning I began my little charade as your beloved."

At this his face took on a mock-tender look and he strolled over casually to rest his hand on her knee again, sliding it smoothly up her leg making her shudder with revulsion and fear. "You couldn't even tell the difference between us, not even when we were in bed," he continued, pushing up her robes to expose her panties, "Do you remember how good it felt, when it was me inside you? Wasn't I so much better than that puny little boy?"

He began tracing the outline of her underwear softly, his expression intent, and Hermione's stomach dropped. Thinking desperately of a way to distract him, she blurted out, "So it was you that slept with all those other women?"

Krum looked taken aback, "Yes, of course. I had to keep things interesting, and you have the most adorable look when you're angry. I didn't plan on you breaking up with us so soon, but it all worked out. Of course, it helped that Ginny caught me without my potion the last night before school. She's been instrumental in keeping tabs on you. The social shunning was her idea, actually."

"Ginny?" Hermione said, shocked. She'd known that Ginny hadn't liked her very much since the fight with Ron during the War, but to plot with this madman was beyond belief. This was going to kill Harry, "She helped you?"

"In more ways than one." Victor smirked, grabbing the cloth of her skirt in both hands and pulling it off, "But don't be jealous, love. You'll have plenty of opportunities to do the same, now that I have you here. Ginny is great in the sack, but you proved that night in the Astronomy tower that you are truly the best. In _everything_ you do."

As Krum leaned forward to lick the inside of her thigh hungrily, Hermione's thoughts raced, searching, for something, _anything_, to distract him from the obvious bulge in his pants.

"If you were trying to hurt me, then why do you have such a problem with Draco?" she blurted out, focusing her energy on getting the coin out of her pocket. She just needed to keep him talking until help arrived. Finally seeing the glint of gold, she wandlessly levitated it above Krum's head as he continued, straining for a moment before she watched as her message flashed across the gold face: _In the Chamber of Secrets, need help NOW!_

In the Room of Requirement and McGonagall's office, three enchanted Galleons flashed white-hot.

Krum lifted his head from between her splayed legs slowly, his face a mask of pure hatred, "The Malfoy boy. Such a waste. I didn't believe he would make you happy; in fact, I was counting on him to hurt you further. After all the devious plots he carried out against you, I was sure that he was attempting to gain your trust only to betray you in some dramatic and emotionally traumatic fashion. It would have been brilliant; after all the betrayal you'd already endured, the one friendly person you were so grateful for would be a traitor as well! Alas, it seems the stupid boy actually fell for you," Krum's nails dug into her hips painfully, but she refused to whimper, to let him get off on her pain, "I don't mind sharing on occasion when the motives are deceitful, but damned if I'll allow him to ride up on his white horse and make you happy again after all the work I've done to hurt you."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she realized how much Krum must hate her and Draco. If she didn't get out of here quickly, he would probably take revenge on Draco as well. She couldn't let Draco pay the price for her mishandling of the situation.

"Is that why you brought me here? To take me away from him?" she asked as his hands began to wander up her blouse, trying to distract both herself and him from his touch.

"Partially," he agreed, his eyes never leaving her shirt as he began to unbutton it, undeterred, "But also because he never truly had you for his own. I simply let him borrow you for a bit. I figured I could keep you here until I have time to smuggle you back to Bulgaria. No one will think to look here, and I'm tired of sharing. I want to play with my toy."

Yanking open the last few buttons, he pulled off her shirt and robes, leaving her bare save for her bra and panties. Hermione was on the verge of panicking as he drew his wand and circled her, humming cheefully. She'd sent the message; surely someone would be coming quickly! Judging from Krum's delighted grin, it might not be soon enough.

Without warning, he brandished his wand at her, shouting, "Slistera!" Hermione screamed as a long cut opened from her belly button to hip. It seemed ironic that the spell she'd used for her own purposes that night so long ago should be the one this madman chose to use on her. Krum watched her clamp her lips shut to keep from screaming a second time with an amused smirk, twirling his wand between his rather stubby fingers. Raising it lazily, he said again, "Slistera," drawing a cut from her collarbone to the nipple of one breast. Hermione shut her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the searing pain, but this seemed to piss him off more.

"Pay attention to your Master, you selfish little bitch!" Krum yell, his eyes bulging, "Crucio!"

Her body jerked as the first wave of pain hit, but she managed to keep her lips shut tight, unwilling to let him have the satisfaction of hearing her scream even once more. Arching her back as she fought to ride out the pain, she didn't notice him lowering her before him, placing her at waist level on him.

Ending the spell, he cooed mockingly, "Does that hurt? Oh, you poor thing… Let's see if this makes it feel any better."

Hermione only felt a slight pressure at her entrance as warning before he shoved a rough wooden stick into her as far as possible with one thrust. Allowing her head to fall back, she bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood as unimaginable agony ripped through her. Krum simply laughed, wiggling the stick and pulling it out slightly before thrusting it back in mercilessly.

"I know my pet likes to be loosened up before she takes this huge dick in her," he murmured, shoving it farther inside her as his free hand lowered to free his member, stroking it gently.

Opening her mouth in a silent cry as he yanked the stick out of her, Hermione felt splinters break off and stay within her. Even as Krum positioned himself to enter her, she internally begged someone, _anyone_, to show up. Victor forced himself into her with one unrelenting thrust, his flushed face filled with triumph. Hermione silently wept at the unbearable pain, struggling to not let herself give up hope as Krum began to fuck her abused body hard.

Then abruptly, Krum had vanished, and she found herself falling to land somewhat gently on the ground. Turning, she chocked on a sob of relief as she saw Draco standing over her with an expression she could only liken to an enraged avenging angel. Krum's anger earlier now seemed as potent as a little kid's tantrum compared to the fury Draco's face displayed.

Draco stood over his Hermione and seethed at Krum, who lay cursing halfway down the Chamber. After he'd received Luna and Harry's Patronuses telling him that she was down in the Chamber, he'd redoubled his pace until he'd spouted some hissing noises at the sink and was admitted. He'd picked up enough of what Potter had said to that snake he'd conjured second year that it let him in. He'd run into Ginny, who'd been on her way out and stunned her even as she began the incantation for the Killing Curse. Leaving her unconscious and immobilized, he'd stood frozen at the final door for only a few moments as he watched Krum torture Hermione before casting a blasting spell at him. He couldn't bring himself to give Hermione more than a cursory glance at the moment; he needed to kill this fucking bastard slowly and painfully first.

Reaching down, he found one of her hands and squeezed it reassuringly for a moment before advancing on Krum's inert figure, never taking his eyes off the other man. He approached slowly, pretty sure that Krum was unconscious, but he hadn't made it halfway there before Krum sprang to his feet and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

Blocking the spell easily, Draco shot a flurry of spells at Krum, still advancing. Krum retaliated by sending a veritable barrage of hexes back, ducking behind a statue for cover. Breaking into a run, Draco threw up a shield spell to cover him, intent on reaching the poor excuse for a human being and choking the life out of his worthless body for daring to harm Hermione. Following the Bulgarian as he wove in and out of the statues, Draco was practically frothing at the mouth as they dueled; so livid was he at Krum's audacity. Finally, Draco rounded the last statue to head him off and end this game-

"Expelliamus!"

Draco watched in growing horror as his wand flew across the Chamber, arcing to land only a few feet from Hermione's limp form. Her eyes wide and staring at him, Draco thought only _I failed you again, I'm so sorry Hermione, _before Krum crucioed him. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he wracked his mind desperately for a solution. After receiving the Cruciatus Curse numerous times at the hands of Voldemort during his time as a Death Eater, Draco found he could bear it with a bit of concentration while managing to think clearly through the pain. He was wandless and at the hands of a madman, Hermione was injured and possibly knocked out at this point, and Harry, Luna, and Neville were still ages away. He despaired; he'd been Hermione's only chance to be saved and now they both would probably be killed or worse.

Krum cackled with mad glee, "Stupid Malfoy, did you really think you'd be able to save her? Hermione always has, and always will belong to me!"

Then-

"Expelliamus!"

The pain gone, Draco opened his eyes to the most glorious sight he'd even seen. Hermione stood between him and Krum in all her naked, bleeding glory, holding her wand on a stunned Krum.

"You always were a bit of an idiot, but leaving my wand in the pocket of my robes? You really are an imbecile," Hermione said with a furious air of disdain, "I belong to you? Delusional bag of shit, I was never yours. No matter who I date or what I do, I belong only to myself. If you think that just because I kissed you once that you have the right to dictate my life, you're in for one hell of a shock. Because I guarantee you, even though you've turned my life upside down, I'm not going to spend the rest of it in terror over what you've done. I'm going to go out and live my life any way I damn well please, no matter how much you tell yourself that you've traumatized me into sobbing into a corner somewhere. So, just to be clear, since you are a bit slow," she leaned forward and snarled, "Go fuck yourself sideways with a troll dildo."

Krum had sat pale and sweating under the threat of her wand until the last sentence registered. Lunging forward with a roar, he grabbed for Hermione with a snarl of rage.

Hermione's expression didn't change as she said calmly, " Hacksorva Testes."

Dropping in his tracks, Krum's eyes bulged out of their sockets as his hands flew to his crotch. A large red circle of blood spread down the front of his pants and an odd keening noise came from his throat as he fell onto his side, cupping his now flat-fronted jeans.

Looking down at the guy coldly, Hermione explained, "Testicle removal spell. I found it a few years ago and Luna reminded me of how fun it would be to try it out. Non reversible, thankfully."

McGonagall burst through the doorway at that moment, followed by Luna, Harry, Neville, and other assorted ex-members of the D.A. Standing and conjuring a robe to cover up Hermione, pulling around her, he nodded towards Krum.

"Ron is back there," he murmured softly to Harry, "He was unconscious when I got here and this guy was taking liberties with Hermione."

"Ron wasn't part of it; Krum's been taking Polyjuice for months, pretending to be him. He told me." Hermione interjected, leaning against Draco's shoulder.

Harry nodded and helped direct Luna, who was levitating Ron out. McGonagall was taking an enormous amount of pleasure in hauling Krum to his feet, apparently jostling his fresh wounds.

"Brilliant hex, Miss Granger. Absolutely perfect, and well chosen, I must say. One hundred points to Gryffindor and Slytherin," the Headmistress said as she marched the now harmless Bulgarian out with Neville's help, "Mr. Malfoy, escort Miss Granger to the hospital wing as soon as possible please."

Draco turned to Hermione, smiling in relief at being able to walk her anywhere again only to find her head down, tears pooling at her feet. And just like that his stress level shot through the roof again.

"Hermione! Oh God, does it hurt?"_ Idiot, of course it hurts! _"Where does it hurt, I can cast a pain killer spell, I'm so sorry-"

"No, it doesn't hurt that badly," Hermione replied quietly, her voice thick with tears, "It's just that, it's all over. I don't have to be afraid anymore. And you weren't hurt."

Raising her head, she gazed at him with wonder in her tear stained eyes, and he marveled at how she looked so strong and fearless in that moment. Tearstained, bloody, with a bruise beginning to appear on her forehead, he thought she'd never looked more beautiful.

"Yes, everything's going to be okay," he said softly, pulling her in for a careful, tender hug.

She laughed against his shoulder, leaning into him, "No, it won't be. Ron will have shit to go through after being Krum's prisoner. I probably won't be able to sleep right for a while, and Harry lost his fiancée. Everything's still screwed up, but c'est la vie. Life is messy," Hermione pulled back to look him in the eye with a small smile, "But without the chaos, the good bits wouldn't be so wonderful. Krum may have done some horrible things, but he's made me stronger. End of semester exams will seem like a cake walk after this."

Draco chuckled and rested his forehead against hers; "You know I'll be here to help you through the nights when you can't sleep, and the days when you're scared. Through the good times and the hellish ones. I love you, Hermione."

"And I love you, Draco," Hermione replied before turning her head and pressing her lips to his. Draco wrapped his arms around her tightly, relishing the feel of her against him, grateful that she was still here. Hermione was oddly calm; even after everything that had happened she felt like they could get through anything together. There was the small problem of Ron being innocent, but for now she leaned into the man she loved and gave herself up to the joy of simply being in his arms.

A/N: And it's finished! I may do either an epilogue or a sequel to this story, depending on reviews/PMs! I already have one vote for a sequel, so review and let me know your thoughts on that as well as any and all comments on this last chapter! Thanks again, everyone!


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